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Determinants of Corporate Long-Term Capital Policy. Poland vs. France, Germany, and Great Britain: Comparative Approach and Panel Analysis

This paper focuses on tendencies and determinants of corporate long-term capital policy. The study covered nearly 2000 firms during the period 1988-2002 in four European countries, namely: France, Germany, Great Britain and Poland. It answers the two main questions. First, what tendencies can be observed in the capital structure policy in the chosen EU countries and in Poland, and what were the main differences in the firms' sources of financing between the analyzed countries. Secondly, the paper analyses whether specific variables suggested in the world literature are important determinants for the capital structure in respective countries. Comparative approach and panel analysis are employed in this study. We find a declining trend in the share of long-term debt in total liabilities and a tendency towards convergence of this variable in 3 highly developed European countries. In Poland the share of long-term debt in the structure of corporate debt is very small and differs significantly from the remaining countries. The share of fixed capital in the financing of assets was increasing throughout the 1990s (calculated in market values) in all analyzed counties. On the other hand, considering fixed capital and assets in their book values, we can observe in all the countries apart from Great Britain a decline in the involvement of fixed capital in the financing of assets, particularly during the final period of studies. Panel analysis reveal that a few of the main explanatory variables closely connected with particular corporate characteristics may influence financial decisions concerning the strategy of capital structure both as regards debt and fixed capital. The results underline the impact of the level of liabilities, share of fixed capital in total assets, prospects of growth of a firm, liquidity, level of durability of assets.