Capital structure decision: micro- and macroeconomic determinants in Malaysia

This paper attempts to analyse the determinants of capital structure decisions among Malaysian firms by considering both the firm-specific (micro-economic) and the macro-economic factors. Using a sample covering 612 listed firms across major business sectors in the Bursa Malaysia during a span of te...

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Main Authors: Julkid, Noor Farahanim, Lau, Wei Theng
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Human Resource Management Academic Research Society 2020
Online Access:http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/88082/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/88082/1/ABSTRACT.pdf
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author Julkid, Noor Farahanim
Lau, Wei Theng
author_facet Julkid, Noor Farahanim
Lau, Wei Theng
author_sort Julkid, Noor Farahanim
building UPM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description This paper attempts to analyse the determinants of capital structure decisions among Malaysian firms by considering both the firm-specific (micro-economic) and the macro-economic factors. Using a sample covering 612 listed firms across major business sectors in the Bursa Malaysia during a span of ten recent years (2009-2018), the analysis proposes that both the micro- and macro-economic determinants are relevant for decision makers in understanding the financial leverage of firms. Panel data regressions suggest a significant positive relationship of non-debt tax shield, firm size, tangibility, interest rate and stock market development with debt ratio of firms. Meanwhile, a significant negative relationship is found for profitability, liquidity and gross domestic product. While the macro-economic variables are proposed to be fundamentally important in this study, they do not affect the roles of commonly proposed firm-specific factors implied by the existing capital structure theories. The results are also robust across the estimations with pooled ordinary least squares, fixed effects and random effects models. This paper particularly focuses on providing empirical evidence from the Malaysian market, extendable to cover the other countries for future investigations.
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spelling upm-880822022-05-18T06:33:16Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/88082/ Capital structure decision: micro- and macroeconomic determinants in Malaysia Julkid, Noor Farahanim Lau, Wei Theng This paper attempts to analyse the determinants of capital structure decisions among Malaysian firms by considering both the firm-specific (micro-economic) and the macro-economic factors. Using a sample covering 612 listed firms across major business sectors in the Bursa Malaysia during a span of ten recent years (2009-2018), the analysis proposes that both the micro- and macro-economic determinants are relevant for decision makers in understanding the financial leverage of firms. Panel data regressions suggest a significant positive relationship of non-debt tax shield, firm size, tangibility, interest rate and stock market development with debt ratio of firms. Meanwhile, a significant negative relationship is found for profitability, liquidity and gross domestic product. While the macro-economic variables are proposed to be fundamentally important in this study, they do not affect the roles of commonly proposed firm-specific factors implied by the existing capital structure theories. The results are also robust across the estimations with pooled ordinary least squares, fixed effects and random effects models. This paper particularly focuses on providing empirical evidence from the Malaysian market, extendable to cover the other countries for future investigations. Human Resource Management Academic Research Society 2020 Article PeerReviewed text en http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/88082/1/ABSTRACT.pdf Julkid, Noor Farahanim and Lau, Wei Theng (2020) Capital structure decision: micro- and macroeconomic determinants in Malaysia. International Journal of Academic Research in Accounting, Finance and Managment Sciences, 10 (2). 76 - 86. ISSN 2308-0337; ESSN: 2225-8329 https://hrmars.com/index.php/IJARAFMS/article/view/7355/Capital-Structure-Decision-Micro-and-Macroeconomic-Determinants-in-Malaysia 10.6007/IJARAFMS/v10-i2/7355
spellingShingle Julkid, Noor Farahanim
Lau, Wei Theng
Capital structure decision: micro- and macroeconomic determinants in Malaysia
title Capital structure decision: micro- and macroeconomic determinants in Malaysia
title_full Capital structure decision: micro- and macroeconomic determinants in Malaysia
title_fullStr Capital structure decision: micro- and macroeconomic determinants in Malaysia
title_full_unstemmed Capital structure decision: micro- and macroeconomic determinants in Malaysia
title_short Capital structure decision: micro- and macroeconomic determinants in Malaysia
title_sort capital structure decision: micro- and macroeconomic determinants in malaysia
url http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/88082/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/88082/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/88082/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/88082/1/ABSTRACT.pdf