Human Capital, Bankruptcy and Capital Structure

39 Pages Posted: 6 Apr 2007 Last revised: 23 Jan 2022

See all articles by Jonathan Berk

Jonathan Berk

Stanford Graduate School of Business; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Richard Stanton

University of California, Berkeley - Haas School of Business

Josef Zechner

Vienna University of Economics and Business

Date Written: April 2007

Abstract

We derive a firm's optimal capital structure and managerial compensation contract when employees are averse to bearing their own human capital risk, while equity holders can diversify this risk away. In the presence of corporate taxes, our model delivers optimal debt levels consistent with those observed in practice. It also makes a number of predictions for the cross-sectional distribution of firm leverage. Consistent with existing empirical evidence, it implies persistent idiosyncratic differences in leverage across firms. An important new empirical prediction of the model is that, ceteris paribus, firms with more leverage should pay higher wages.

Suggested Citation

Berk, Jonathan B. and Stanton, Richard H. and Zechner, Josef, Human Capital, Bankruptcy and Capital Structure (April 2007). NBER Working Paper No. w13014, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=978405

Jonathan B. Berk (Contact Author)

Stanford Graduate School of Business ( email )

655 Knight Way
Stanford, CA 94305-5015
United States

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) ( email )

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

Richard H. Stanton

University of California, Berkeley - Haas School of Business ( email )

Haas School of Business
545 Student Services Building #1900
Berkeley, CA 94720-1900
United States
(510) 642-7382 (Phone)
(510) 643-1412 (Fax)

Josef Zechner

Vienna University of Economics and Business ( email )

Welthandelsplatz 1
Vienna, Wien A-1019
Austria

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