The Impact of Family Control on Capital Structure on Emerging Economies

This work aims to understand the impact of family control on firms' capital structure in emerging markets. Multinational firms from Latin American countries are analyzed from 2011 to 2021, using dynamic models. The results show that family firms are singular compared to non-family ones. Family control positively impacts total and long-term debt. Moreover, corporate governance variables are also relevant to explain capital structure. Women's presence on the board of directors contributes to decrease firms' indebtedness. Firms' specific characteristics are also relevant in explaining debt choices. Finally, macroeconomic factors impact the firms' capital structure differently than developed countries.