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The dynamics of investment, payout and debt

Accepted version
Peer-reviewed

Type

Article

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Authors

Lambrecht, BMAC 
Myers, SC 

Abstract

We develop a dynamic agency model of a public corporation. Managers underinvest because of risk aversion. They smooth rents and payout. They do not exploit interest tax shields fully. The interactions of investment, debt, and payout decisions can change drastically depending on managers’ preferences. Managers with power utility set investment, debt, and payout proportional to the firm’s net worth, generating a constant (possibly negative) net debt ratio. With exponential utility, investment decisions are separated from decisions about debt and payout. More profitable firms become cash cows, and less profitable firms accumulate debt, as in a pecking-order model.

Description

Keywords

payout, investment, financing policy, agency

Journal Title

The Review of Financial Studies

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

0893-9454
1465-7368

Volume Title

30

Publisher

Oxford University Press
Sponsorship
Lambrecht gratefully acknowledges financial support from the Cambridge Endowment for Research in Finance (CERF).