Capital structure decisions along the supply chain : Evidence from import competition

This paper studies the spillover effect of import competition in downstream industries on upstream capital structure. We find that a large reduction in import tariffs in a customer industry induces suppliers to choose more conservative financial policies. We show that firms lower their leverage more when the customer–supplier relationship is more valuable to the firms and when firms are more vulnerable to the downstream shock. Finally, firms adjust their leverage mainly by issuing more equity.

本文研究了下游產業進口競爭對上游資本結構的溢出效應。我們發現, 客戶行業的進口關稅大幅下降會導致供應商選擇更為保守的金融政策。我們表明, 當客戶–供應商關係對公司更有價值而公司更容易受到下游衝擊時, 公司會更多地降低杠杆率。最後, 公司主要通過發行更多股權來調整杠杆。