**Hypothesis 1 (H1).** *Family firms have lower leverage than non-family peers.*

**Hypothesis 2 (H2).** *Family owned companies are less risky than non-family firms.*

These hypotheses suggest that family owned firms possess some characteristics, such as family legacy, generational succession, and longer-term horizons, which might potentially be responsible for the capital structure choice and make family business more risk averse and conservative.
