Testing the Pecking Order Theory of Fisheries Firms' Capital Structure : Using Financing Deficit

In this paper, we study the extent to which the pecking order theory of capital structure provides a satisfactory account of the financing behavior of Korean fisheries firms using financing deficit. The major results of this study are as follows. Firstly, we find that the financing deficit is a important factor that explains the pecking order theory of fisheries firms`capital structure. However, the financing deficit does not wipe out the effects of conventional variables. The information in the financing deficit appears to be factored in along with many other things that fisheries firms take into account. Such result is consistent with the result of Frank and Goyal(2003). Secondly, we find that profitability is only one factor explaining the capital structure of fisheries firms among conventional variables when we test the regression of leverage with financing deficit during post IMF period. This result is different from the previous researches of Korean fisheries firms. (Kang and Jeong; 1997, Nam, Lee, and Hong; 2011) Finally, we examine the dynamics of capital structure of Korean fisheries firms firstly. It will allow a more detailed analysis for capital structure determinants for Korean fisheries firms.