Abstract: | The funds required by corporate organizations to finance their growth and other activities are obtained from three basic sources: equity capital, retained earnings, and debt. This paper estimates and compares the relative returns derived from using each of these three basic sources of funds within an aggregative framework using data obtained from the published annual reports and in some cases the prospectuses of about 50 firms in manufacturing, distribution and services whose shares are quoted and traded on the Nigerian stock exchange. The period covered is between 1973 and 1983. The results raise questions about managerial decisionmaking relating to optimal capital structure and corporate financing of Nigerian firms. Bibliogr. |