IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/pacfin/v86y2024ics0927538x24002208.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Product market liberalization and corporate cash holdings: Evidence from China

Author

Listed:
  • Lin, Ling
  • Xiao, Min
  • Yao, Rongrong
  • Zhang, Xiaoying

Abstract

Exploiting China's sequential product market liberalization reform as a quasi-natural experiment, we find that market liberalization leads to a reduction in corporate cash holdings. This reduction is attributable to increased competition induced by market liberalization. The disciplinary effect of market liberalization, which curbs firms' opportunistic cash holdings, is more pronounced among firms located in regions with greater local government intervention and those with weaker corporate governance before market liberalization. Overall, we provide novel evidence of how product market liberalization in an emerging economy impacts firms' cash holding strategies.

Suggested Citation

  • Lin, Ling & Xiao, Min & Yao, Rongrong & Zhang, Xiaoying, 2024. "Product market liberalization and corporate cash holdings: Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:pacfin:v:86:y:2024:i:c:s0927538x24002208
    DOI: 10.1016/j.pacfin.2024.102468
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0927538X24002208
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.pacfin.2024.102468?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jeffrey J. Burks & Christine Cuny & Joseph Gerakos & João Granja, 2018. "Competition and voluntary disclosure: evidence from deregulation in the banking industry," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 23(4), pages 1471-1511, December.
    2. Zhang, Xiang & Zhou, Han, 2022. "The effect of market competition on corporate cash holdings: An analysis of corporate innovation and financial constraint," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    3. Biddle, Gary C. & Hilary, Gilles & Verdi, Rodrigo S., 2009. "How does financial reporting quality relate to investment efficiency?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(2-3), pages 112-131, December.
    4. Dittmar, Amy & Mahrt-Smith, Jan & Servaes, Henri, 2003. "International Corporate Governance and Corporate Cash Holdings," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 38(1), pages 111-133, March.
    5. Hainmueller, Jens, 2012. "Entropy Balancing for Causal Effects: A Multivariate Reweighting Method to Produce Balanced Samples in Observational Studies," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20(1), pages 25-46, January.
    6. Thomas W. Bates & Kathleen M. Kahle & René M. Stulz, 2009. "Why Do U.S. Firms Hold So Much More Cash than They Used To?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 64(5), pages 1985-2021, October.
    7. Geert Bekaert & Campbell R. Harvey, 2000. "Foreign Speculators and Emerging Equity Markets," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 55(2), pages 565-613, April.
    8. Jiaxing You & Ling Lin & Juanjuan Huang & Min Xiao, 2020. "When is cash king? International evidence on the value of cash across the business cycle," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 54(3), pages 1101-1131, April.
    9. Ma, Liang & Mello, Antonio S. & Wu, Youchang, 2020. "First-mover advantage, time to finance, and cash holdings," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    10. Boris Nikolov & Toni M. Whited, 2014. "Agency Conflicts and Cash: Estimates from a Dynamic Model," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 69(5), pages 1883-1921, October.
    11. Thorsten Beck & Ross Levine & Alexey Levkov, 2010. "Big Bad Banks? The Winners and Losers from Bank Deregulation in the United States," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 65(5), pages 1637-1667, October.
    12. Huang, Zhangkai & Li, Lixing & Ma, Guangrong & Qian, Jun, 2021. "The reversal of privatization in China: A political economy perspective," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    13. Jensen, Michael C, 1986. "Agency Costs of Free Cash Flow, Corporate Finance, and Takeovers," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(2), pages 323-329, May.
    14. Vidhi Chhaochharia & Yaniv Grinstein & Gustavo Grullon & Roni Michaely, 2017. "Product Market Competition and Internal Governance: Evidence from the Sarbanes–Oxley Act," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 63(5), pages 1405-1424, May.
    15. Philippe Aghion & Mathias Dewatripont & Patrick Rey, 1999. "Competition, Financial Discipline and Growth," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 66(4), pages 825-852.
    16. Opler, Tim & Pinkowitz, Lee & Stulz, Rene & Williamson, Rohan, 1999. "The determinants and implications of corporate cash holdings," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(1), pages 3-46, April.
    17. Begenau, Juliane & Palazzo, Berardino, 2021. "Firm selection and corporate cash holdings," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 139(3), pages 697-718.
    18. Jen Baggs & Jean‐Etienne De Bettignies, 2007. "Product Market Competition And Agency Costs," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(2), pages 289-323, June.
    19. Qianwei Ying & Yanyan Zhu & Mengchao Yao & Ziyang Li, 2021. "Does stock market liberalisation restrain corporate financialisation?," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 61(5), pages 6263-6294, December.
    20. Bengt Holmstrom, 1982. "Moral Hazard in Teams," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 13(2), pages 324-340, Autumn.
    21. Shen, Zhe & Sowah, Joseph Sowahfio & Dak-Adzaklo, Cephas Simon Peter & Li, Shan, 2023. "Competition laws and corporate risk-taking around the world," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    22. Oliver D. Hart, 1983. "The Market Mechanism as an Incentive Scheme," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 14(2), pages 366-382, Autumn.
    23. Klaus M. Schmidt, 1997. "Managerial Incentives and Product Market Competition," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 64(2), pages 191-213.
    24. Jiang, Fuxiu & Kim, Kenneth A. & Nofsinger, John R. & Zhu, Bing, 2015. "Product market competition and corporate investment: Evidence from China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 196-210.
    25. R. Glenn Hubbard, 1998. "Capital-Market Imperfections and Investment," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 36(1), pages 193-225, March.
    26. Jiang, Guohua & Lee, Charles M.C. & Yue, Heng, 2010. "Tunneling through intercorporate loans: The China experience," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(1), pages 1-20, October.
    27. Philippe Aghion & Nick Bloom & Richard Blundell & Rachel Griffith & Peter Howitt, 2005. "Competition and Innovation: an Inverted-U Relationship," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 120(2), pages 701-728.
    28. Han, Seungjin & Qiu, Jiaping, 2007. "Corporate precautionary cash holdings," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 13(1), pages 43-57, March.
    29. Callaway, Brantly & Sant’Anna, Pedro H.C., 2021. "Difference-in-Differences with multiple time periods," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 225(2), pages 200-230.
    30. Singh, Manohar & Davidson III, Wallace N., 2003. "Agency costs, ownership structure and corporate governance mechanisms," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 27(5), pages 793-816, May.
    31. Paul J. Irvine & Jeffrey Pontiff, 2009. "Idiosyncratic Return Volatility, Cash Flows, and Product Market Competition," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(3), pages 1149-1177.
    32. José A. Azar & Jean-François Kagy & Martin C. Schmalz, 2016. "Can Changes in the Cost of Carry Explain the Dynamics of Corporate "Cash" Holdings?," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 29(8), pages 2194-2240.
    33. Joel Peress, 2010. "Product Market Competition, Insider Trading, and Stock Market Efficiency," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 65(1), pages 1-43, February.
    34. Xu, Nianhang & Chen, Qinyuan & Xu, Yan & Chan, Kam C., 2016. "Political uncertainty and cash holdings: Evidence from China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 276-295.
    35. Alimov, Azizjon, 2014. "Product market competition and the value of corporate cash: Evidence from trade liberalization," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 122-139.
    36. Lyandres, Evgeny & Palazzo, Berardino, 2016. "Cash Holdings, Competition, and Innovation," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 51(6), pages 1823-1861, December.
    37. Jessica S Jeffers, 2024. "The Impact of Restricting Labor Mobility on Corporate Investment and Entrepreneurship," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 37(1), pages 1-44.
    38. Li, Qian & Guo, Mengting, 2022. "Do the resignations of politically connected independent directors affect corporate social responsibility? Evidence from China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    39. Jianqiao Huang & Yunsen Chen & Xin Dai & Xiaoran Ni, 2022. "Stock market liberalisation and corporate cash holdings: evidence from China," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(S1), pages 1925-1955, April.
    40. James S. Ang & Rebel A. Cole & James Wuh Lin, 2000. "Agency Costs and Ownership Structure," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 55(1), pages 81-106, February.
    41. Hao, Ying & Li, Junyi & Ni, Juan & Yin, Ziqi, 2023. "Can military executives improve corporate performance? Evidence from industrial competitive pressure," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    42. Doruk Cengiz & Arindrajit Dube & Attila Lindner & Ben Zipperer, 2019. "The Effect of Minimum Wages on Low-Wage Jobs," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 134(3), pages 1405-1454.
    43. Chen, Yuyang & Wang, Xinlu & Chen, Kun, 2023. "Stock market liberalization and pay for market-based performance: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    44. Chen, Ruiyuan (Ryan) & El Ghoul, Sadok & Guedhami, Omrane & Nash, Robert, 2018. "State Ownership and Corporate Cash Holdings," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 53(5), pages 2293-2334, October.
    45. Paul J. Irvine & Jeffrey Pontiff, 2009. "Idiosyncratic Return Volatility, Cash Flows, and Product Market Competition," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(3), pages 1149-1177, March.
    46. Henry, Peter Blair, 2000. "Do stock market liberalizations cause investment booms?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(1-2), pages 301-334.
    47. Lai, Shaojie & Yang, Laifeng & Wang, Qing & Anderson, Hamish D., 2023. "Judicial independence and corporate innovation: Evidence from the establishment of circuit courts," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    48. Huang, Wei & Jiang, Fuxiu & Liu, Zhibiao & Zhang, Min, 2011. "Agency cost, top executives' overconfidence, and investment-cash flow sensitivity -- Evidence from listed companies in China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 261-277, June.
    49. Nickell, Stephen J, 1996. "Competition and Corporate Performance," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 104(4), pages 724-746, August.
    50. Mauricio Larrain & Sebastian Stumpner, 2017. "Capital Account Liberalization and Aggregate Productivity: The Role of Firm Capital Allocation," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 72(4), pages 1825-1858, August.
    51. Chen, Ruiyuan (Ryan) & Guedhami, Omrane & Yang, Yang & Zaynutdinova, Gulnara R., 2020. "Corporate governance and cash holdings: Evidence from worldwide board reforms," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    52. Igor Cunha & Joshua Pollet & David Denis, 2020. "Why Do Firms Hold Cash? Evidence from Demographic Demand Shifts," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 33(9), pages 4102-4138.
    53. Gerard Hoberg & Gordon Phillips & Nagpurnanand Prabhala, 2014. "Product Market Threats, Payouts, and Financial Flexibility," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 69(1), pages 293-324, February.
    54. Ren, Shenggang & He, Duojun & Yan, Ji & Zeng, Huixiang & Tan, Justin, 2022. "Environmental labeling certification and corporate environmental innovation: The moderating role of corporate ownership and local government intervention," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 556-571.
    55. Yunsen Chen & Jianqiao Huang & Xiao Li & Qingbo Yuan, 2022. "Does stock market liberalization improve stock price efficiency? Evidence from China," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(7-8), pages 1175-1210, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Babar, Md. & Habib, Ahsan, 2021. "Product market competition in accounting, finance, and corporate governance: A review of the literature," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    2. Li, Xiafei & Luo, Di, 2020. "Increase in cash holdings of U.S. firms: The role of healthcare and technology industries," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 286-298.
    3. Lin, Xiaowei & Li, Ao & Zhang, Pengdong & Chen, Wenchuan, 2023. "The disciplinary role of product market competition on cash holding," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 653-671.
    4. Zhang, Xiang & Zhou, Han, 2022. "The effect of market competition on corporate cash holdings: An analysis of corporate innovation and financial constraint," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    5. Li, Xiaodan & Pan, Zikui & Ho, Kung-Cheng & Bo, Yu, 2024. "Epidemics, local institutional quality, and corporate cash holdings," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 193-210.
    6. Ujjayini Roy & Indrani Chakraborty, 2023. "Market concentration, agency cost and firm performance: a case study on Indian corporate firms," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 56(4), pages 2645-2693, August.
    7. Christos Floros & Emilios Galariotis & Konstantinos Gkillas & Efstathios Magerakis & Constantin Zopounidis, 2024. "Time-varying firm cash holding and economic policy uncertainty nexus: a quantile regression approach," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 341(2), pages 859-895, October.
    8. Sun, Wenyi & Yin, Chao & Zeng, Yeqin, 2023. "Precautionary motive or private benefit motive for holding cash: Evidence from CEO ownership," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    9. Tan, Jianhua & Chen, Tao & Zhang, Peng & Chan, Kam C., 2021. "Environmental rule enforcement and cash holdings: Evidence from a natural experiment," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    10. Li, Zhisheng & Liu, Chun & Ni, Xiaoran & Pang, Jiaren, 2024. "Stock market liberalization and corporate investment revisited: Evidence from China," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    11. Efstathios Magerakis & Konstantinos Gkillas & Christos Floros & George Peppas, 2022. "Corporate R&D intensity and high cash holdings: post-crisis analysis," Operational Research, Springer, vol. 22(4), pages 3767-3808, September.
    12. Atawnah, Nader & Zaman, Rashid & Liu, Jia & Atawna, Thaer & Maghyereh, Aktham, 2023. "Does foreign competition affect corporate debt maturity structure? Evidence from import penetration," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    13. Xede, James & Simon Peter Dak-Adzaklo, Cephas & Ofosu, Emmanuel & Wise Dodzidenu Adza, Solomon, 2023. "Competition laws, external financing and investment," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    14. Ugur, Mehmet & Solomon, Edna & Zeynalov, Ayaz, 2022. "Leverage, competition and financial distress hazard: Implications for capital structure in the presence of agency costs," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    15. Ahrends, Meike & Drobetz, Wolfgang & Puhan, Tatjana Xenia, 2018. "Cyclicality of growth opportunities and the value of cash holdings," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 74-96.
    16. Asiri, Mohammed & Al-Hadi, Ahmed & Taylor, Grantley & Duong, Lien, 2020. "Is corporate tax avoidance associated with investment efficiency?," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    17. Yao, Youfu & Hong, Yun, 2023. "Can comment letters impact excess cash holdings? Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 900-922.
    18. Tinaikar, Surjit & Xu, Bo, 2023. "Does competition exacerbate investment inefficiencies? Evidence from Japanese firms," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 35-53.
    19. Ma, Liang & Mello, Antonio S. & Wu, Youchang, 2020. "First-mover advantage, time to finance, and cash holdings," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    20. Amairi, Haifa & Gallali, Mohamed Imen & Sassi, Syrine, 2022. "Market pressure and cost of equity: Revisited," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 47(PB).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:pacfin:v:86:y:2024:i:c:s0927538x24002208. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/pacfin .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.