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中文3150字，2100单词，10800英文字符出处：AborJ.Theeffectofcapitalstructureonprofitability:anempiricalanalysisoflistedfirmsinGhana[J].JournalofRiskFinance,2005,6(November):438-445.外文翻译Theeffectofcapitalstructureonprofitability:anempiricalanalysisoflistedfirmsinGhanaAuthor:JoshuaAborIntroductionThecapitalstructuredecisioniscrucialforanybusinessorganization.Thedecisionisimportantbecauseoftheneedtomaximizereturnstovariousorganizationalconstituencies,andalsobecauseoftheimpactsuchadecisionhasonafirm’sabilitytodealwithitscompetitiveenvironment.Thecapitalstructureofafirmisactuallyamixofdifferentsecurities.Ingeneral,afirmcanchooseamongmanyalternativecapitalstructures.Itcanissuealargeamountofdebtorverylittledebt.Itcanarrangeleasefinancing,usewarrants,issueconvertiblebonds,signforwardcontractsortradebondswaps.Itcanissuedozensofdistinctsecuritiesincountlesscombinations;however,itattemptstofindtheparticularcombinationthatmaximizesitsoverallmarketvalue.Anumberoftheorieshavebeenadvancedinexplainingthecapitalstructureoffirms.Despitethetheoreticalappealofcapitalstructure,researchersinfinancialmanagementhavenotfoundtheoptimalcapitalstructure.Thebestthatacademicsandpractitionershavebeenabletoachieveareprescriptionsthatsatisfyshort-termgoals.Forexample,thelackofaconsensusaboutwhatwouldqualifyasoptimalcapitalstructurehasnecessitatedtheneedforthisresearch.Abetterunderstandingoftheissuesathandrequiresalookattheconceptofcapitalstructureanditseffectonfirmprofitability.ThispaperexaminestherelationshipbetweencapitalstructureandprofitabilityofcompanieslistedontheGhanaStockExchangeduringtheperiod1998-2002.TheeffectofcapitalstructureontheprofitabilityoflistedfirmsinGhanaisascientificareathathasnotyetbeenexploredinGhanaianfinanceliterature.Thepaperisorganizedasfollows.Thefollowingsectiongivesareviewoftheextantliteratureonthesubject.Thenextsectiondescribesthedataandjustifiesthechoiceofthevariablesusedintheanalysis.Themodelusedintheanalysisisthenestimated.Thesubsequentsectionpresentsanddiscussestheresultsoftheempiricalanalysis.Finally,thelastsectionsummarizesthefindingsoftheresearchandalsoconcludesthediscussion.LiteratureoncapitalstructureTherelationshipbetweencapitalstructureandfirmvaluehasbeenthesubjectofconsiderabledebate.Throughouttheliterature,debatehascenteredonwhetherthereisanoptimalcapitalstructureforanindividualfirmorwhethertheproportionofdebtusageisirrelevanttotheindividualfirm’svalue.Thecapitalstructureofafirmconcernsthemixofdebtandequitythefirmusesinitsoperation.BrealeyandMyers(2003)contendthatthechoiceofcapitalstructureisfundamentallyamarketingproblem.Theystatethatthefirmcanissuedozensofdistinctsecuritiesincountlesscombinations,butitattemptstofindtheparticularcombinationthatmaximizesmarketvalue.AccordingtoWestonandBrigham(1992),theoptimalcapitalstructureistheonethatmaximizesthemarketvalueofthefirm’soutstandingshares.FamaandFrench(1998),analyzingtherelationshipamongtaxes,financingdecisions,andthefirm’svalue,concludedthatthedebtdoesnotconcedetaxbenefits.Besides,thehighleveragedegreegeneratesagencyproblemsamongshareholdersandcreditorsthatpredictnegativerelationshipsbetweenleverageandprofitability.Therefore,negativeinformationrelatingdebtandprofitabilityobscuresthetaxbenefitofthedebt.Boothetal.(2001)developedastudyattemptingtorelatethecapitalstructureofseveralcompaniesincountrieswithextremelydifferentfinancialmarkets.Theyconcludedthatthevariablesthataffectthechoiceofthecapitalstructureofthecompaniesaresimilar,inspiteofthegreatdifferencespresentedbythefinancialmarkets.Besides,theyconcludedthatprofitabilityhasaninverserelationshipwithdebtlevelandsizeofthefirm.Graham(2000)concludedinhisworkthatbigandprofitablecompaniespresentalowdebtrate.MesquitaandLara(2003)foundintheirstudythattherelationshipbetweenratesofreturnanddebtindicatesanegativerelationshipforlong-termfinancing.However,theyfoundapositiverelationshipforshort-termfinancingandequity.HadlockandJames(2002)concludedthatcompaniespreferloan(debt)financingbecausetheyanticipateahigherreturn.Taub(1975)alsofoundsignificantpositivecoefficientsforfourmeasuresofprofitabilityinaregressionofthesemeasuresagainstdebtratio.PetersenandRajan(1994)identifiedthesameassociation,butforindustries.Baker(1973),whoworkedwithasimultaneousequationsmodel,andNerlove(1968)alsofoundthesametypeofassociationforindustries.RodenandLewellen(1995)foundasignificantpositiveassociationbetweenprofitabilityandtotaldebtasapercentageofthetotalbuyout-financingpackageintheirstudyonleveragedbuyouts.Champion(1999)suggestedthattheuseofleveragewasonewaytoimprovetheperformanceofanorganization.Insummary,thereisnouniversaltheoryofthedebt-equitychoice.Differentviewshavebeenputforwardregardingthefinancingchoice.ThepresentstudyinvestigatestheeffectofcapitalstructureonprofitabilityoflistedfirmsontheGSE.MethodologyThisstudysampledallfirmsthathavebeenlistedontheGSEoverafive-yearperiod(1998-2002).Twenty-twofirmsqualifiedtobeincludedinthestudysample.Variablesusedfortheanalysisincludeprofitabilityandleverageratios.Profitabilityisoperationalizedusingacom