This paper analyzes the existence of flights from stocks to bonds and vice versa. We propose a definition and a test for flight-to-quality, flight-from-quality and cross-asset contagion and examine their characteristics and effects for the financial system. The empirical analysis for eight developed countries including the US, the UK, Germany and Japan shows that flights exist and are a common feature in many crises episodes. Our findings also reveal that flights are not merely country-specific events but occur simultaneously across countries. This indicates that there is a link between the occurrence of flights and cross-country contagion. Moreover, we show that flights enhance the resiliency of the financial markets by providing diversification benefits in times when they are needed most.

This paper investigates the impact of country-level financial integration on corporate financing choices in emerging economies. Examining 4477 public firms from 24 countries, we find that corporate leverage is positively related to credit market integration and negatively related to equity market integration. As integration proceeds to higher levels, high-growth firms seem to obtain more debt than low-growth firms; large firms seem to obtain more debt – especially long-term debt – and issue more equity than small firms. Also, there is evidence that firms are able to borrow more funds in countries with more efficient legal systems during integration process.

Why do companies not follow through with an IPO after filing for one? This question is investigated by examining common stock IPOs for the largest countries in Europe. We cover 80% of the Western European IPO market over the 2001–2015 period. We establish that the IPO phenomenon of withdrawal is a common feature of equity markets and identify key characteristics that influence the probability of withdrawal. Findings indicate that venture capital or private equity involvement, the presence of negative news, CEO duality, or the intent to retire debt increase the probability of IPO withdrawal. On the other hand, higher levels of corporate governance or trading volume decrease the pssrobability of IPO withdrawal. We argue that imminent agency conflicts and the lack of appropriate control mechanisms can force a company to withdraw from the IPO.