Capital Structure and Corporate Financing Decisions: Theory, Evidence, and Practice

P1: TIX/XYZ P2: ABC

JWBT436-c01 JWBT436-Baker February 11, 2011 7:53 Printer Name: Hamilton

CAPITAL STRUCTURE:AN OVERVIEW 3

Although coverageisnot exhaustive, the book includes a reviewof several hundred

articles. Leading academics and researchers from around the globe provide a syn-

thesis of the current state of capital structure and give their views about its future

direction.

FEATURES OF THE BOOK

Many finance books deal with capital structure. Yet, few, if any, offer the scope of

coverage and breadth of viewpoints contained in this volume. The book differs

from others in several major ways. Perhaps the book’s most distinctive feature is

that it provides a comprehensive discussion of financial theory, empirical work,

and practice involving corporate financial policies, strategies, and choices. This is

an up-to-date book in terms of theoretical developments, empirical results, and

practical applications.

Although the book cannot cover every topic on capital structure, given the

voluminous amount of writing on the subject, it does seek to highlight some of the

most important topics. The book takes a practical approach to capital structure by

discussing why various theories make sense, the empirical support for them, and

how firms use these theories to solve problems and to create wealth. This volume

uses theoretical and mathematical derivations only when necessary to explain the

topic. Although the book also reports the results of many empirical studies that

link theory and practice, the objective