Firm and country determinants of debt maturityinternational evidence

Resumen

This paper analyzes the effect of firm- and country-level determinants on debt maturity structure and how this effect varies across countries. Results for 39 countries indicate that firm-level variables such as asset maturity, size, firm quality and leverage affect debt maturity structure. While the efficiency of the legal system and the bank concentration show a positive relationship with debt maturity, the degree of investor protection and the weight of banks in the economy have a negative effect on firm debt maturity. However, these firm- and country-level determinants vary according to firm size, institutional and legal environment, and banking structure of the country. The higher the level of legal efficiency, the higher the fulfillment of the agency cost and signaling hypotheses and the lower the validity of the matching hypothesis.