IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/rqfnac/v59y2022i1d10.1007_s11156-022-01049-9.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Does firm-level political risk affect cash holdings?

Author

Listed:
  • Shehub Bin Hasan

    (University of Warwick)

  • Md Samsul Alam

    (De Montfort University)

  • Sudharshan Reddy Paramati

    (University of Dundee)

  • Md Shahidul Islam

    (University of Suffolk)

Abstract

We investigate whether firm-level political risk affects corporate cash holdings. Taking a sample of 5424 US firms with 129,750 firm-quarter observations from 2002Q1 to 2021Q3, we find that cash holdings is higher for firms with greater exposure to firm-level political risk. The positive relationship between firm political risk and cash holdings is consistent for financial constraint and non-constraint firms, high and low growth firms, pro-cyclical and counter-cyclical and competitive industries. Further, our findings are consistent to alternative measures of firm-level political risk and cash holdings. In addition, our findings remain robust with different endogeneity tests: a natural experiment, an instrumental variable approach, and a propensity score matching. Overall, we present novel evidence on the determinants of corporate cash holdings.

Suggested Citation

  • Shehub Bin Hasan & Md Samsul Alam & Sudharshan Reddy Paramati & Md Shahidul Islam, 2022. "Does firm-level political risk affect cash holdings?," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 59(1), pages 311-337, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:rqfnac:v:59:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1007_s11156-022-01049-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s11156-022-01049-9
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11156-022-01049-9
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11156-022-01049-9?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. Saumitra Bhaduri & Mrinal Kanti, 2011. "Macroeconomic uncertainty and corporate liquidity: the Indian case," Macroeconomics and Finance in Emerging Market Economies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 4(1), pages 167-180.
    2. Deshmukh, Sanjay & Goel, Anand M. & Howe, Keith M., 2021. "Do CEO beliefs affect corporate cash holdings?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    3. Megginson, William L. & Ullah, Barkat & Wei, Zuobao, 2014. "State ownership, soft-budget constraints, and cash holdings: Evidence from China’s privatized firms," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 276-291.
    4. Duong, Huu Nhan & Nguyen, Justin Hung & Nguyen, My & Rhee, S. Ghon, 2020. "Navigating through economic policy uncertainty: The role of corporate cash holdings," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    5. Myers, Stewart C. & Majluf, Nicholas S., 1984. "Corporate financing and investment decisions when firms have information that investors do not have," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(2), pages 187-221, June.
    6. Pattanaporn Chatjuthamard & Sirimon Treepongkaruna & Pornsit Jiraporn & Napatsorn Jiraporn, 2021. "Does firm‐level political risk influence corporate social responsibility (CSR)? Evidence from earnings conference calls," The Financial Review, Eastern Finance Association, vol. 56(4), pages 721-741, November.
    7. Lee, Chien-Chiang & Wang, Chih-Wei, 2021. "Firms' cash reserve, financial constraint, and geopolitical risk," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    8. Stewart C. Myers & Nicholas S. Majluf, 1984. "Corporate Financing and Investment Decisions When Firms Have InformationThat Investors Do Not Have," NBER Working Papers 1396, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Tri Tri Nguyen & Manh Cuong Nguyen & Hung Quang Bui & Tuyet Nhung Vu, 2021. "The cash-holding link within the supply chain," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 57(4), pages 1309-1344, November.
    10. 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.
    11. Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W, 1992. "Liquidation Values and Debt Capacity: A Market Equilibrium Approach," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 47(4), pages 1343-1366, September.
    12. Baum, Christopher F. & Caglayan, Mustafa & Stephan, Andreas & Talavera, Oleksandr, 2008. "Uncertainty determinants of corporate liquidity," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 25(5), pages 833-849, September.
    13. Nagar, Venky & Schoenfeld, Jordan & Wellman, Laura, 2019. "The effect of economic policy uncertainty on investor information asymmetry and management disclosures," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(1), pages 36-57.
    14. Sharpe, Steven A, 1994. "Financial Market Imperfections, Firm Leverage, and the Cyclicality of Employment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(4), pages 1060-1074, September.
    15. 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.
    16. 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.
    17. Arouri, Mohamed & Estay, Christophe & Rault, Christophe & Roubaud, David, 2016. "Economic policy uncertainty and stock markets: Long-run evidence from the US," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 18(C), pages 136-141.
    18. Kuan, Tsung-Han & Li, Chu-Shiu & Liu, Chwen-Chi, 2012. "Corporate governance and cash holdings: A quantile regression approach," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 303-314.
    19. 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.
    20. Jae Sim & Egon Zakrajsek & Simon Gilchrist, 2010. "Uncertainty, Financial Frictions, and Investment Dynamics," 2010 Meeting Papers 1285, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    21. Scott R. Baker & Nicholas Bloom & Steven J. Davis, 2016. "Measuring Economic Policy Uncertainty," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 131(4), pages 1593-1636.
    22. Kang, Wensheng & Lee, Kiseok & Ratti, Ronald A., 2014. "Economic policy uncertainty and firm-level investment," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 39(PA), pages 42-53.
    23. An, Heng & Chen, Yanyan & Luo, Danglun & Zhang, Ting, 2016. "Political uncertainty and corporate investment: Evidence from China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 174-189.
    24. Michael Faulkender & Rong Wang, 2006. "Corporate Financial Policy and the Value of Cash," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 61(4), pages 1957-1990, August.
    25. Ben S. Bernanke, 1983. "Irreversibility, Uncertainty, and Cyclical Investment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 98(1), pages 85-106.
    26. D'Mello, Ranjan & Toscano, Francesca, 2020. "Economic policy uncertainty and short-term financing: The case of trade credit," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    27. Marianne Bertrand & Francis Kramarz & Antoinette Schoar & David Thesmar, 2018. "The Cost of Political Connections," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 22(3), pages 849-876.
    28. Heitor Almeida & Murillo Campello, 2007. "Financial Constraints, Asset Tangibility, and Corporate Investment," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 20(5), pages 1429-1460, 2007 12.
    29. Ran Duchin, 2010. "Cash Holdings and Corporate Diversification," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 65(3), pages 955-992, June.
    30. Aye, Goodness C. & Balcilar, Mehmet & Demirer, Riza & Gupta, Rangan, 2018. "Firm-level political risk and asymmetric volatility," The Journal of Economic Asymmetries, Elsevier, vol. 18(C), pages 1-1.
    31. Azzimonti, Marina, 2018. "Partisan conflict and private investment," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 114-131.
    32. Al-Najjar, Basil, 2013. "The financial determinants of corporate cash holdings: Evidence from some emerging markets," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 77-88.
    33. Pástor, Ľuboš & Veronesi, Pietro, 2013. "Political uncertainty and risk premia," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(3), pages 520-545.
    34. Tarek A Hassan & Stephan Hollander & Laurence van Lent & Ahmed Tahoun, 2019. "Firm-Level Political Risk: Measurement and Effects," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 134(4), pages 2135-2202.
    35. repec:bla:jfinan:v:59:y:2004:i:4:p:1777-1804 is not listed on IDEAS
    36. Toni M. Whited & Guojun Wu, 2006. "Financial Constraints Risk," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 19(2), pages 531-559.
    37. Vasia Panousi & Dimitris Papanikolaou, 2012. "Investment, Idiosyncratic Risk, and Ownership," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 67(3), pages 1113-1148, June.
    38. Lee Pinkowitz & Rene M. Stulz & Rohan Williamson, 2003. "Do Firms in Countries with Poor Protection of Investor Rights Hold More Cash?," NBER Working Papers 10188, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    39. Laurent Fresard, 2010. "Financial Strength and Product Market Behavior: The Real Effects of Corporate Cash Holdings," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 65(3), pages 1097-1122, June.
    40. Bigelli, Marco & Martín-Ugedo, Juan Francisco & Sánchez-Vidal, F. Javier, 2014. "Financial conservatism of private firms," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 67(11), pages 2419-2427.
    41. Phan, Hieu V. & Nguyen, Nam H. & Nguyen, Hien T. & Hegde, Shantaram, 2019. "Policy uncertainty and firm cash holdings," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 71-82.
    42. Kotcharin, Suntichai & Maneenop, Sakkakom, 2020. "Geopolitical risk and corporate cash holdings in the shipping industry," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    43. Kim, Chang-Soo & Mauer, David C. & Sherman, Ann E., 1998. "The Determinants of Corporate Liquidity: Theory and Evidence," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 33(3), pages 335-359, September.
    44. Arouri, Mohamed & Estay, Christophe & Rault, Christophe & Roubaud, David, 2016. "Economic policy uncertainty and stock markets: Long-run evidence from the US," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 18(C), pages 136-141.
    45. Bonaime, Alice & Gulen, Huseyin & Ion, Mihai, 2018. "Does policy uncertainty affect mergers and acquisitions?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 129(3), pages 531-558.
    46. Liu, Li & Zhang, Tao, 2015. "Economic policy uncertainty and stock market volatility," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 15(C), pages 99-105.
    47. Demir, Ender & Ersan, Oguz, 2017. "Economic policy uncertainty and cash holdings: Evidence from BRIC countries," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 189-200.
    48. Charles J. Hadlock & Joshua R. Pierce, 2010. "New Evidence on Measuring Financial Constraints: Moving Beyond the KZ Index," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 23(5), pages 1909-1940.
    49. Pinkowitz, Lee & Williamson, Rohan, 2001. "Bank Power and Cash Holdings: Evidence from Japan," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 14(4), pages 1059-1082.
    50. Fan, Joseph P.H. & Rui, Oliver Meng & Zhao, Mengxin, 2008. "Public governance and corporate finance: Evidence from corruption cases," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 343-364, September.
    51. Muhammad Atif & Benjamin Liu & Allen Huang, 2019. "Does board gender diversity affect corporate cash holdings?," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(7-8), pages 1003-1029, July.
    52. Gupta, C.P. & Bedi, Prateek, 2020. "Corporate cash holdings and promoter ownership," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 44(C).
    53. Laurent Fresard, 2010. "Financial Strength and Product Market Behavior: The Real Effects of Corporate Cash Holdings," Post-Print hal-00537081, HAL.
    54. Devos, Erik & Rahman, Shofiqur, 2018. "Labor unemployment insurance and firm cash holdings," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 15-31.
    55. Lili Dai & Phong Ngo, 2021. "Political Uncertainty and Accounting Conservatism," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(2), pages 277-307, March.
    56. Ghaly, Mohamed & Dang, Viet Anh & Stathopoulos, Konstantinos, 2015. "Cash holdings and employee welfare," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 53-70.
    57. Ting-Kai Chou & Hsuan-Ling Feng, 2019. "Multiple directorships and the value of cash holdings," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 53(3), pages 663-699, October.
    58. Mohamed Ghaly & Viet Anh Dang & Konstantinos Stathopoulos, 2017. "Cash Holdings and Labor Heterogeneity: The Role of Skilled Labor," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 30(10), pages 3636-3668.
    59. Jonathan Brogaard & Andrew Detzel, 2015. "The Asset-Pricing Implications of Government Economic Policy Uncertainty," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 61(1), pages 3-18, January.
    60. Huseyin Gulen & Mihai Ion, 2016. "Editor's Choice Policy Uncertainty and Corporate Investment," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 29(3), pages 523-564.
    61. Glenn W. Boyle & Graeme A. Guthrie, 2003. "Investment, Uncertainty, and Liquidity," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 58(5), pages 2143-2166, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Wei Yu & Jianjun Jia & Ying Zheng, 2023. "Political uncertainty and corporate working capital in China," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 61(3), pages 927-966, October.
    2. Zhang, Dongyang & Wang, Cao & Wang, Yizhi, 2024. "Unveiling the critical nexus: Volatility of crude oil future prices and trade partner’s cash holding behavior in the face of the Russia–Ukraine conflict," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    3. Huynh, Nhan & Le, Quynh Nga & Tran, Quang Thien, 2024. "Firm-level political risk and intellectual capital investment: Does managerial ability matter?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    4. Safiullah, Md & Kabir, Md. Nurul, 2024. "Corporate political risk and environmental performance," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    5. Rahman, Dewan & Haque, Anamul & Kabir, Muhammad & Bin Hasan, Shehub, 2024. "Firm-level political risk and equity issuance," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    6. Lee, Chien-Chiang & Wang, Chih-Wei & Thinh, Bui Tien & Purnama, Muhammad Yusuf Indra, 2023. "Cash holdings and cash flows: Do oil price uncertainty and geopolitical risk matter?," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 134-152.
    7. Qiong Zhou & Qian Tan & Huixiang Zeng & Yu-En Lin & Peng Zhu, 2023. "Does Soil Pollution Prevention and Control Promote Corporate Sustainable Development? A Quasi-Natural Experiment of “10-Point Soil Plan” in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-20, March.

    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. 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.
    2. Cui, Di & Ding, Mingfa & Han, Yikai & Suardi, Sandy, 2022. "Foreign shareholders, relative foreign policy uncertainty and corporate cash holdings," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    3. Phan, Hieu V. & Nguyen, Nam H. & Nguyen, Hien T. & Hegde, Shantaram, 2019. "Policy uncertainty and firm cash holdings," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 71-82.
    4. Alam, Md Samsul & Safiullah, Md & Islam, Md Shahidul, 2022. "Cash-rich firms and carbon emissions," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    5. Bijoy Chandra Das & Fakhrul Hasan & Soma Rani Sutradhar, 2024. "The impact of economic policy uncertainty and inflation risk on corporate cash holdings," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 62(3), pages 865-887, April.
    6. El Ghoul, Sadok & Guedhami, Omrane & Mansi, Sattar & Wang, He (Helen), 2023. "Economic policy uncertainty, institutional environments, and corporate cash holdings," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    7. Caixe, Daniel Ferreira, 2022. "Corporate governance and investment sensitivity to policy uncertainty in Brazil," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(PB).
    8. Lee, Chi-Chuan & Lee, Chien-Chiang & Xiao, Shunyi, 2021. "Policy-related risk and corporate financing behavior: Evidence from China’s listed companies," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 539-547.
    9. Theodora Bermpei & Antonios Nikolaos Kalyvas & Lorenzo Neri & Antonella Russo, 2022. "Does economic policy uncertainty matter for financial reporting quality? Evidence from the United States," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 58(2), pages 795-845, February.
    10. Zhang, Xiang & Zhang, Zongyi & Zhou, Han, 2020. "Oil price uncertainty and cash holdings: Evidence from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    11. Al-Thaqeb, Saud Asaad & Algharabali, Barrak Ghanim, 2019. "Economic policy uncertainty: A literature review," The Journal of Economic Asymmetries, Elsevier, vol. 20(C).
    12. Duong, Huu Nhan & Nguyen, Justin Hung & Nguyen, My & Rhee, S. Ghon, 2020. "Navigating through economic policy uncertainty: The role of corporate cash holdings," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    13. Javadi, Siamak & Mollagholamali, Mohsen & Nejadmalayeri, Ali & Al-Thaqeb, Saud, 2021. "Corporate cash holdings, agency problems, and economic policy uncertainty," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    14. Quader, Syed Manzur, 2023. "The interplay between uncertainty, managerial decision making, and firm value: Evidence from Bangladesh," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    15. Wang, Huaxing & Li, Tianzi & Zhu, Junfan & Jian, Youting & Wang, Zeyu & Wang, Zengwen, 2023. "China's new environmental protection law: Implications for mineral resource policy, environmental precaution and green finance," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PB).
    16. Ahmad, Muhammad Farooq & Aziz, Saqib & El-Khatib, Rwan & Kowalewski, Oskar, 2023. "Firm-level political risk and dividend payout," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    17. Liu, Yuanyuan & Li, Jing & Liu, Guanchun & Lee, Chien-Chiang, 2021. "Economic policy uncertainty and firm’s cash holding in China: The key role of asset reversibility," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    18. Jeon, Chunmi & Mun, Seongjae & Han, Seung Hun, 2022. "Firm-level political risk, liquidity management, and managerial attributes," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    19. D'Mello, Ranjan & Toscano, Francesca, 2020. "Economic policy uncertainty and short-term financing: The case of trade credit," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    20. Demir, Ender & Ersan, Oguz, 2017. "Economic policy uncertainty and cash holdings: Evidence from BRIC countries," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 189-200.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Firm-level political risk; Cash holdings; Financial constraints; Business cycle;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • H32 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents - - - Firm

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:kap:rqfnac:v:59:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1007_s11156-022-01049-9. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://springer.com .

    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.