[经济学理论] AER建刊100年: The Top 20 Articles第十三篇 （含补充材料） [推广有奖]

Modigliani, Franco, andMertonH.Miller.1958."The Cost of Capital,Corporation
Finance and theTheory of Investment." AmericanEconomicReview, 48(3): 261-97.
A centralquestionincorporatefinanceis howa firm'sfinancial choices,such
as itsuseofdebtratherthanequityfinancing, affectitscostofcapitalandconsequentlyitsinvestment behavior. Thispaperdevelopedanewframework foraddressingthisquestionbyaskinghowdifferent debt-equity choiceswouldaffecthetotal
marketvalueofall ofthecashflowsthatthefirmprovidedtoitsinvestors, both
bond-holders andstock-holders. Thepaper'scentral resultisthat,ina settingwith
completecapitalmarketsandintheabsenceoftax-induceddistortions, a firm's
totalmarketvalueis invariant toitsborrowing behavior. Thispowerful resultcan
bedemonstrated constructively, bydevelopinga straightforward setofborrowing or
lendingtransactions thatanequityinvestor canundertake tooffset theconsequences
ofchangesincorporate borrowing. Theanalytical approachinthispaperisoneof
thekeyfoundations forthemodernfieldoffinancial economics.