Dr. Gallegos-Mardones, Juan

The purpose of this study is to explain the financial performance of companies in Latin America through the lens of capital structure and ownership structure. We perform a quantitative analysis of companies in Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Peru using a panel data method. To avoid endogeneity problems, instrumental variables, generalised method of moments models, and panels with random effects are employed. The data cover the period 2000 to 2015. We find a positive relationship between financial performance, growth, and size of the company. However, there are mixed results for short- and long-term financial leverage, as well as for company liquidity. With respect to the ownership structure of Chilean companies, a positive effect is observed for the first major shareholder with financial performance. In general, our results are in line with those of previous studies. However, the existence of mixed results between companies and countries makes for an interesting and novel conclusion.

Working capital management is one of the most important decisions that affect an organisation’s financial performance. Despite the importance of this topic, the empirical evidence for emerging economies is scarce; therefore, this research attempts to estimate and compare how investment in working capital impacts the financial performance of companies listed on the stock exchanges in Chile, Mexico, Peru, and Brazil for the years 2000 to 2018. This study uses panel data methodology, and the results show the existence of a positive and significant but non-linear relationship between investments in working capital and firm performance. However, there are mixed results for different countries and industries that could be explained by macroeconomic variables that favour access to financing for such investments. Furthermore, the results show that investments in working capital perform better for larger companies than smaller companies.