Determinants of the capital structure of publicly-traded companies in Brazil, Mexico and Chile in the period 2001-2006/Determinantes da estrutura de capital das companhias abertas no Brasil, Mexico e Chile no periodo 2001-2006

The present study investigates the determinants of the capital structure, using the technique of static panel data, for a sample of 297 companies from several sectors in Brazil, Mexico and Chile, between 2001 and 2006, in order to determine the relative importance of the specific factors of the firm. Starting from six indicators of leverage ratio (total book-debt ratio, short-term and long-term book-debt ratio, total market-debt ratio and short-term and long-term financial-debt ratio), it was evidenced that the specific factors of the firm: current liquidity, profitability, market to book value and size presented the most significant results for the capital structure of the companies from the three countries. Among the four theoretical currents analyzed (Trade off, Asymmetry of information, Pecking order and Agency), the theory of Pecking order seems to be the one that best explains the results obtained for Brazil and Mexico. For Chile, besides the Pecking order, the theory of Trade off strongly influences the capital structure.