CORPORATE-FINANCE IN DEVELOPING-COUNTRIES - NEW EVIDENCE FOR INDIA

Recent work by Singh and Hamid (1992, Corporate Financial Structures i n Developing Countries) and Singh (1995, Corporate Financial Patterns ill Industrializing Economies: A Comparative International Study) has suggested that large firms ina number of developing countries, includi ng India, use much more external finance in general, and equity financ e in particular, than those in developed countries. However, the contr ast is in part a product of methodological differences, and India is m uch less different from countries such as Fiance and Italy. The Singh results are not due merely to bias arising from the focus on the large st companies, since the rest of the Indian corporate sector also issue s large amounts of equity, via informal networks rather than organized stock exchanges. The importance of such issues suggests the need for further research before policy conclusions can be drawn. (C) 1998 Else vier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.