Debt financing plays an important role in corporate financial decisions. Therefore, the cost of debt is an interesting topic in corporate finance. Using a sample of 153,784 observations across 30 countries from 2003 to 2016, we find that creditor rights positively affect the cost of debt. In addition, the effect of shareholder rights is weaker in countries with stronger creditor protection. JEL Classification: G32, G34

The literature shows that the relationship between state ownership and corporate investment is debatable. This study examines this relationship in Vietnam as a transitional economy. Our sample consists of 4,680 observations from 2009 to 2020. Using fixed effects and random effects for panel data, random effects Tobit, and pooled OLS, we find that state ownership decreases investment expenditures. Moreover, this negative impact is stronger if the firms are financially unconstrained. Our results indicate that weak corporate governance and soft budget constraints arising from state ownership may fail to determine investment decisions. A government’s negative attitude toward risk and conservatism may effectively affect corporate investment.

Prior research shows that firms restrict their dividend policy due to precautionary motives when they face high uncertainty and external financial constraint during a financial crisis. However, the effect of a financial crisis on dividend policy may also be explained by the bird in hand mechanism. This paper investigates how the global financial crisis affects corporate dividend policy in the Vietnamese stock market. We choose this emerging market since its weak corporate governance environment strengthens shareholders’ bird in hand motive. With a sample of 5,489 observations between 2007 and 2017, we find that both the probability of dividend payment and dividend payout ratio are higher during the crisis period of 2008-2009. The effect of the financial crisis is weaker in firms with high leverage and large size. Moreover, our findings show that the likelihood of dividend omission is lower while the probability of dividend initiation and dividend increase is higher during the financial crisis.