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<p>Rajan and Zingales (1995) find that tangibility, growth opportunity, size and performance are the four common determinants for explaining capital structure across G-7 countries. In this study, we consider a sample of 590 firms from Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Peru and the United States (U.S.), to analyze whether the four common determinants also explain the capital structure in the Latin American countries. Moreover, we use a different sample of companies and a large number of years for U.S. firms and we find similar results to those reported by Rajan and Zingales (1995) more than a decade ago.</p>As expected, we report similar results for Chilean firms as the updated results for U.S. firms. The capital structure of Chilean firms is: positively related to tangible assets; negatively related to growth opportunities; positively related to size and negatively related to performance. This is not only true for book leverage but also for market leverage. The rest of Latin American countries show mixed results. In any case, we find two or three determinants to be statistically significant. However, those determinants are not the same when we use book leverage versus market leverage.

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact triggered by adopting International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in South America. In order to do this, the case of Chile is considered, as it was the first country in the region to adopt IFRS in full form from 2009. Design/methodology/approach The authors analyze a sample of 43 Chilean companies. The analysis has two stages. First, the authors analyze if the adoption of IFRS in Chile produced a statistically significant change in the main financial indicators. Then, the authors analyze the market reaction to the announcement of the adoption and implementation of IFRS, by doing an event study. Findings The authors found that adopting IFRS in Chile produced a statistically significant change in the main financial indicators, except for in leverage and Price-Earnings Ratios. As for the main accounts of the financial statements, the authors found significant differences, with the exception of inventories and current assets. However, after assessing the market reaction to the announcement of the adoption and implementation of IFRS, by studying the events, the authors report neither reward nor punishment by the market. Originality/value This paper pioneers the analysis of the impact triggered by adopting IFRS in South America. The authors results apply not only to Chile but also to a number of South American countries since many of these countries share similar characteristics with Chile.

Using data on 52 countries' banking systems from 2005 to 2014, we explore how the legal and institutional environment influences banking system performance. Using panel data and controlling for financial and economic development indicators, we find evidence of several relationships related to banking system performance. First, a higher degree of legal protection for both lenders and borrowers positively affects banking system performance. Second, there is a positive relationship between the degree of law enforcement and banking system performance. Third, better regulatory quality positively affects banking system performance. Fourth, neither the degree of information sharing nor the control of corruption has a significant effect on banking sector performance. Finally, we find no significant differences in banking sector performance by type of economy.