Empirical Evidence on the Corporate Use of Derivatives

Theory indicates that hedging can increase firm value by reducing expected taxes, expected costs of financial distress, and other agency costs. Prior research, based on survey data, has found only weak evidence consistent with theory. This study provides evidence on the corporate use of derivative instruments from the 1994 audited financial statements of 116 firms. We use the fair and contract values scaled by the market value of each firm to measure the extent of derivatives usage and generally in line with theoretical models of corporate risk management.