Abstract
Financial risk hedging and corporate management are important tools for non-financial corporations. Following the theories of Modigliani and Miller corporate risk management is an irrelevant activity. However, the presence of market imperfections can explain the corporate use of derivatives. Hedging can contribute to the firm value, when firms face a progressive tax rate and when in the presence of the expected costs from financial distress. Moreover, hedging can lower agency costs of debt. The use of derivatives can be also explained by the managers’ behaviour towards risk. The aim of the paper is to evaluate the theoretical and empirical literature ...
