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Lease or borrow? The case of small equipment contracts

delete2026-03-14
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OA
AI
J
James S. Schallheim *
X
Xiaodi Zhang
DOI:10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2026.102997delete
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Abstract

Abstract

En 中文
Small leases and loans are excellent contracts to study the impact of information costs on the contract choice. Using a specially constructed dataset, we can directly compare the costs of leasing to borrowing for small firms. With a 15% average yield in our overall sample, we show that leases average about 12.5% while loans average 24%. After matching paired-samples of true leases and loans and correcting for selection bias, the differential is smaller but remains significant, while true and non-true leases show very little difference in yields. In our unique time series analysis, the average lease yields are significantly related to proxies for macroeconomic risk and demand factors. In sum, we reject the hypothesis that leasing is a more costly form of financing than “equivalent” borrowing and there are reasonable economic factors, related to enhanced collateral rights, that reduce information costs and account for the pricing differentials.
Keywords:
Classifications
G21
G23
G32
Leasing
Loans
Yields
“Leasing is either a tax play or a credit play,”
Paul Weyandt (BNRR)
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Journal

Journal of Corporate Finance cover
Journal of Corporate Finance
IF:
5.9
Papers:
2.5K
Citations:
2.0W

Organization

S
shanghai university of finance and economics
Scholars:
213
Papers: 163
Citations: 4
U
University of Utah
Scholars:
2.9W
Papers: 2.2W
Citations: 4.6W
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