Dpto. Economía y Empresa

This study explores the role of taxes in explaining companies’ financing decisions. We test whether the corporate tax shields explanation of capital structure is applicable to firms listed on the Spanish stock exchange over the period 2007–2013. Taxes are found to be economically and statistically significant determinants of capital structure. Our results suggest that marginal tax rates affect the debt policies of Spanish listed companies, and the existence of non-debt tax shields constitutes an alternative to the use of debt as a tax shelter. Consistent with theoretical expectations, there is a stronger relation between debt and taxation in less levered firms. Finally, we empirically estimate the impact of the new thin-capitalization rule put forth by the Spanish government in 2012 on the financing behaviour of Spanish listed companies. Our empirical evidence supports the existence of a tax reform effect, where companies affected by interest deductibility limitations reduce their leverage more than companies that are not affected.

Los impuestos son, económica y estadísticamente, determinantes importantes de la estructura de capital de las empresas y, por tanto, no son un factor de segundo orden en las decisiones de endeudamiento de las empresas. Así lo prueba el trabajo de investigación realizado al que nos referiremos en las siguientes líneas.

The relevance of risk aversion as the key factor explaining the fluctuations of the economy is receiving increasing attention since the Great Recession. The role of financial shocks in the economic fluctuations and their associated amplifying effects are crucial aspects in the monetary policies followed by central banks around the world. The underlying mechanism behind these effects is directly linked to the time-varying behavior of risk aversion, especially during recessions. The reason is that risk aversion is strongly related to the behavior of the expected market risk premium, which is a fundamental input in the cost of capital and investment decisions of firms through the business cycle. In this research, we present an analysis of the interplay between the expected market risk premium, time-varying risk aversion, and economic uncertainty for the Spanish economy. We estimate risk aversion from aggregate consumption of Spanish households, while the expected market risk premium is extracted from options traded on the IBEX-35 index. Note that we put together variables from the real economy and financial markets. We show that both variables are positive and significantly related, clarifying the important connection between the real and financial sectors of the Spanish economy. More precisely, we show that both risk aversion and the expected market risk premia at alternative horizons are counter-cyclical, and that the slope of the term structure of the expected market risk premium is steeply downward sloping during recessions. Moreover, we find that risk aversion significantly amplifies the effects of adverse economic uncertainty shocks on the expected market risk premium. Therefore, it should not be surprising the collapse of financial prices when there is shock in uncertainty amplified by the increase in risk aversion. The corresponding rise in the expected market risk premium explains the drop in equity prices during bad economic times. The persistence of these effects depends on the nature of the economic crisis. In this framework, we understand both the initial dramatic drop in asset prices provoked by the exogenous COVID-19 crises, and the subsequent recuperation. To conclude, the positive association between uncertainty shocks, risk aversion and the expected market risk premium has extremely important consequences for the investment and output growth fluctuations of the Spanish economy.

La Comisión Europea ha planteado un itinerario digital para los países miembros de la Unión Europea (UE) cuyo objetivo es abordar el reto de la transformación digital para 2030, lo que nos permitirá mejorar nuestra competitividad y bienestar al mismo tiempo que cuidamos del planeta. En este artículo, utilizaremos los datos de la UE, de España y los recogidos en una encuesta propia realizada a las Mercas, para elaborar un análisis comparativo del nivel de digitalización y el empleo de especialistas TIC (Tecnologías de la Información y Comunicaciones) de dichas Mercas con el de las empresas españolas y de la UE. Cabe destacar, entre los resultados obtenidos, que en los indicadores referidos al uso de software ERP (Enterprise Resource Management), tecnologías cloud y la realización de acciones de comunicación social media, las Mercas se encuentran por encima de la media de las PYMEs de la Unión Europea y de España.

The objective of this study is to examine the digital transformation of the complete population of 24 Spanish food units, named Mercas. We develop an index that gauges the degree of digital transformation of these public sector companies. Using a Tobit panel data model, we identify the main determinants of the Mercas’ digital transformation status. Our findings suggest that the size of the Merca, the proficiency of digital technologies by top management, the cooperation between the millennial generation staff and the remaining staff, the business management of buying and selling flowers, fruit and vegetables, and meat, and the utilization of B2B platforms for transactions and information exchange with wholesalers are some of the key determinants of digital transformation. The study also emphasizes the significance of customer demand for the implementation of new technologies as an external factor that influences digital transformation.

En este trabajo, examinamos los determinantes de la financiación mediante deuda intragrupo y su relación con otras alternativas de financiación, especialmente la deuda externa. Realizamos un análisis de datos de panel con una muestra de 787 empresas no financieras españolas, que financian sus operaciones de manera recurrente mediante deuda intragrupo durante el periodo que abarca entre 2013 y 2018. Nuestros resultados muestran como la deuda intragrupo depende positivamente del tamaño y la tangibilidad de los activos, mientras que la rentabilidad, la edad y el crecimiento mantienen una relación negativa. También observamos como tener una mayor financiación mediante deuda intragrupo supone reducir hasta en una cuarta parte la financiación con deuda externa. Además, identificamos la existencia de una jerarquía de preferencias en la selección de distintas fuentes de financiación, donde la deuda intragrupo cumple mejor con la teoría de la jerarquía de preferencias que la deuda externa.

Purpose: This study aims to identify whether Latin American (LA) firms are adopting any hedging strategy when designing Foreign Exchange Risk (FXR) measures. To that end, we explore the impact of several drivers of FXR management. Design/methodology/approach: The sample consists of 342 non-financial listed firms established in a group of representative countries of the LA region and covers the period from 2008 to 2016. Hypothesis testing is performed through a Logit model that measures the likelihood to adopt hedging practices. In addition, a Tobit test offers further insights into the derivatives users. Findings: We corroborate capital structure related hypotheses such as tax goals, financial distress, liquidity, and growth opportunities. In addition, both, ownership concentration and income tax payable seem to be negative and significant determinants of FXR coverage. Originality/value: Results reported in this study are relevant for the LA region with high tradition in raw materials and commodities exports. Our results show that LA firms still make limited use of derivatives and there is still much room for improvement. Hence, additional efforts to promote FXR hedging should be desirable, to meet authorities’ recommendations (OECD, World Bank, and IMF, 2007). Further research exploring Corporate Governance (CG) relationships and differences between large and small firms might be helpful.