EXAMINING CAPITAL STRUCTURE OF CZECH FIRMS

Abstract

In this paper we explore two relevant theories of company capital structure - pecking order theory and trade-off theory on a sample of Czech firms. In trade of theory; companies identify their optimal capital structure and weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of an additional monetary unit of debt. To test both theories panel data methodology is used over a sample of 94 Czech companies during the years 2005-2010 with the use of annual data. Because we use lagged dependent variable amongst independent variables to test pecking order theory and trade-off theory we employ Arellano and Bond (1991) GMM and Anderson and Hsiao (1982) 2SLS models. We explore the influence on total debt ratio as a dependent variable in two formats and independent/explanatory variables, which correspond to specific company characteristics depending on previous literature. Our results suggest that both theoretical approaches contribute to explain capital structure in Czech firms.