Capital and Ownership Structure: A Comparison of United States and Japanese Manufacturing Corporations

Using a large sample of manufacturing corporations, this study analyzes Japanese corporate capital and ownership structures and compares them to those of U.S. corporations. Results indicate that when leverage is measured on a market value basis and adjusted for liquid assets, there are no significan...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Financial management 1986-04, Vol.15 (1), p.5-16
Main Author: Kester, W. Carl
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bank loans
Business structures
Capital structure
Cash
Corporate debt
Corporate governance
Corporations
Debt financing
Debt to equity ratio
Equity
Finance
Financial leverage
Financial liabilities
Financial Management in Japan
Heavy industry
Japan
Leverage
Manufacturing
Ownership
Statistical analysis
Studies
United States
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Description
Summary:Using a large sample of manufacturing corporations, this study analyzes Japanese corporate capital and ownership structures and compares them to those of U.S. corporations. Results indicate that when leverage is measured on a market value basis and adjusted for liquid assets, there are no significant differences in leverage between the two countries beyond those that can be explained by variance in such factors as growth, profitability, risk, size, and industry classification. When leverage is measured on a book value basis, significantly higher leverage is found in Japan even after controlling for such factors. However, this result is concentrated in mature, heavy industries and does not appear to characterize the rest of Japanese manufacturing.
ISSN:0046-3892
1755-053X
DOI:10.2307/3665273