The cost of debt and political institutions: the influence of corruption

Abstract

Purpose This cross-border study’s main purpose is to examine whether there is a significant association between political institutions and the cost of debt. In addition, it also investigates whether this association is moderated by the country’s corruption levels. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a unique cross-border data set comprising 45,848 firms from 117 countries from 2002 to 2017 to investigate these research questions. Further, the authors use the two-stage least squares method to mitigate issues of endogeneity. Findings This study finds that political institutions are significantly associated with cost of debt. Specifically, the cost of debt is lower in countries with stronger democratic institutions, smaller government bureaucracies and higher adherence to the rule of law. Further, this association is strengthened by low corruption levels. Originality/value This study provides new insights into the relationship between political institutions and the cost of debt. Overall, the results reveal that democratic institutions, government bureaucracy and the rule of law are significantly associated with cost of debt. This association is stronger in countries with low levels of corruption and consistent with Transparency’s International notion that accountability and transparency by government political institutions promote sustainable economic growth.

Carbon performance and financial debt: Effect of formal and informal institutions

“…It also distorts the allocation of bank funds to poor‐quality investments (Park, 2012) and exacerbates agency problems within firms (Donadelli et al, 2014). In addition, corruption has been found to moderate the relationship between other political variables and the cost of debt, with democratic values, bureaucracy, and the rule of law having a stronger effect in low‐corruption settings (Tee & Teoh, 2022).…”