Voluntary Disclosure Level and Company-Specific Characteristics : The Case of Palestinian Listed Companies

Many studies have examined the relationship between company`s characteristics and the level of disclosure in both developed and developing countries that enjoyed political and economic stability. This study aims to examine the influence of some firm characteristics which include firm size, debt ratio, firm age, profit margin, return on equity, liquidity, and industry type - and voluntary disclosure level of Palestinian companies which work under unstable political and economic circumstances. For the purpose of this study, 24 non-financial companies-forming approximately 66.7 percent of the total firms listed in Palestine stock exchange- are chosen from Palestine stock exchange. Data are drawn from annual reports of these companies for a period of two years 2006 and 2007. By using correlation and regression analysis, the results support all hypotheses except hypotheses No3 and 6. The study found that, except firm age, all variables are related positively with disclosure level by non financial companies listed in Palestine stock exchange.