IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/diw/diwwpp/dp638.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The Effects of Industry-Level Uncertainty on Cash Holdings: The Case of Germany

Author

Listed:
  • Christopher F. Baum
  • Dorothea Schäfer
  • Oleksandr Talavera

Abstract

This paper investigates the link between the optimal level of non-financial firms' liquid assets and industry-level uncertainty. We develop a structural model of a firm's value maximization problem that predicts that as industry-level uncertainty increases the firm will increase its optimal level of liquidity. We test this hypothesis using a panel of German firms drawn from the Bundesbank's balance sheet database and show that greater uncertainty at the industry level causes firms to increase their cash holdings. The strength of these effects differ among subsamples of the firms with different characteristics.

Suggested Citation

  • Christopher F. Baum & Dorothea Schäfer & Oleksandr Talavera, 2006. "The Effects of Industry-Level Uncertainty on Cash Holdings: The Case of Germany," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 638, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp638
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.diw.de/documents/publikationen/73/diw_01.c.44834.de/dp638.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hubbard, R Glenn & Kashyap, Anil K, 1992. "Internal Net Worth and the Investment Process: An Application to U.S. Agriculture," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 100(3), pages 506-534, June.
    2. Christopher F. Baum & Mustafa Caglayan & Neslihan Ozkan & Oleksandr Talavera, 2006. "The impact of macroeconomic uncertainty on non‐financial firms' demand for liquidity," Review of Financial Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 15(4), pages 289-304.
    3. 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.
    4. 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.
    5. W. Allard Bruinshoofd & Clemens J. M. Kool, 2004. "Dutch corporate liquidity mangement: New evidence on aggregation," Journal of Applied Economics, Universidad del CEMA, vol. 7, pages 195-230, November.
    6. Whited, Toni M, 1992. "Debt, Liquidity Constraints, and Corporate Investment: Evidence from Panel Data," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 47(4), pages 1425-1460, September.
    7. 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.
    8. Driver, Ciaran & Paul Temple & Giovanni Urga, 2002. "Profitability, Capacity, and Uncertainty: A Robust Model of UK Manufacturing Investment," Royal Economic Society Annual Conference 2002 66, Royal Economic Society.
    9. Ciaran Driver & Paul Temple & Giovanni Urga, 2005. "Profitability, capacity, and uncertainty: a model of UK manufacturing investment," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 57(1), pages 120-141, January.
    10. Ozkan, Aydin & Ozkan, Neslihan, 2004. "Corporate cash holdings: An empirical investigation of UK companies," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 28(9), pages 2103-2134, September.
    11. Simon Gilchrist & Charles Himmelberg, 1999. "Investment: Fundamentals and Finance," NBER Chapters, in: NBER Macroeconomics Annual 1998, volume 13, pages 223-274, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Blundell, Richard & Bond, Stephen, 1998. "Initial conditions and moment restrictions in dynamic panel data models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 87(1), pages 115-143, August.
    13. 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.
    14. Hartman, Richard, 1976. "Factor Demand with Output Price Uncertainty," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 66(4), pages 675-681, September.
    15. Vivek Ghosal & Prakash Loungani, 2000. "The Differential Impact of Uncertainty on Investment in Small and Large Businesses," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 82(2), pages 338-343, May.
    16. repec:bla:jfinan:v:59:y:2004:i:4:p:1777-1804 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Alfonsina Iona & Leone Leonida & Aydin Ozkan, "undated". "Determinants of Financial Conservatism: Evidence from Low-Leverage and Cash-Rich UK Firms," Discussion Papers 04/01, Department of Economics, University of York.
    18. repec:bla:econom:v:72:y:2005:i:286:p:307-331 is not listed on IDEAS
    19. Professor E. Philip Davis & Joseph Byrne, 2002. "Investment and Uncertainty in the G7," National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) Discussion Papers 198, National Institute of Economic and Social Research.
    20. 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.
    21. Joseph P. Byrne & E. Philip Davis, 2005. "Investment and Uncertainty in the G7," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 141(1), pages 1-32, April.
    22. Ulf von Kalckreuth, 2003. "Exploring the role of uncertainty for corporate investment decisions in Germany," Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics (SJES), Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics (SSES), vol. 139(II), pages 173-206, June.
    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. Balcaen,S. & Buyze, J. & Ooghe,H., 2009. "Financial distress and firm exit: determinants of involuntary exits, voluntary liquidations and restructuring exits," Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School Working Paper Series 2009-21, Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School.
    2. Bigelli, Marco & Sánchez-Vidal, Javier, 2012. "Cash holdings in private firms," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 26-35.
    3. 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).

    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. 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.
    2. Christopher F. Baum & Atreya Chakraborty & Liyan Han & Boyan Liu, 2012. "The effects of uncertainty and corporate governance on firms’ demand for liquidity," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(4), pages 515-525, February.
    3. Christopher F. Baum & Andreas Stephan & Oleksandr Talavera, 2009. "The Effects Of Uncertainty On The Leverage Of Nonfinancial Firms," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 47(2), pages 216-225, April.
    4. Bigelli, Marco & Sánchez-Vidal, Javier, 2012. "Cash holdings in private firms," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 26-35.
    5. Dobetz, Wolfgang & Grüninger, Matthias C., 2006. "Corporate cash holdings: Evidence from a different institutional setting," Working papers 2006/06, Faculty of Business and Economics - University of Basel.
    6. Cafer Kaplan & Erdal Ozmen & Cihan Yalcin, 2006. "The Determinants and Implications of Financial Asset Holdings of Non-Financial Firms in Turkey : An Emprical Investigation," Working Papers 0606, Research and Monetary Policy Department, Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey.
    7. Abdul Rashid & Maryam Ashfaq, 2017. "Financial Constraints And Corporate Cash Holdings: An Empirical Analysis Using Firm Level Data," Annals of Financial Economics (AFE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 12(02), pages 1-26, June.
    8. Talavera, Oleksandr & Tsapin, Andriy & Zholud, Oleksandr, 2012. "Macroeconomic uncertainty and bank lending: The case of Ukraine," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 279-293.
    9. Fryderyk Mirota & Natalia Nehrebecka, 2018. "Determinanty transakcyjnej rezerwy płynności w spółkach giełdowych w Polsce," Gospodarka Narodowa. The Polish Journal of Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, issue 3, pages 75-102.
    10. Pedro J. García‐Teruel & Pedro Martínez‐Solano, 2008. "On the Determinants of SME Cash Holdings: Evidence from Spain," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(1‐2), pages 127-149, January.
    11. Guney, Yilmaz & Ozkan, Aydin & Ozkan, Neslihan, 2007. "International evidence on the non-linear impact of leverage on corporate cash holdings," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 45-60, February.
    12. Lalita Anand & M. Thenmozhi & Nikhil Varaiya & Saumitra Bhadhuri, 2018. "Impact of Macroeconomic Factors on Cash Holdings?: A Dynamic Panel Model," Journal of Emerging Market Finance, Institute for Financial Management and Research, vol. 17(1_suppl), pages 27-53, April.
    13. Ann E. Harrison & Inessa Love & Margaret S. McMillan, 2022. "Global capital flows and financing constraints," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Globalization, Firms, and Workers, chapter 8, pages 181-213, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    14. Cristina Martínez-Sola & Pedro J. García-Teruel & Pedro Martínez-Solano, 2018. "Cash holdings in SMEs: speed of adjustment, growth and financing," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 51(4), pages 823-842, December.
    15. 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.
    16. Thi Tuyet Dao, Nhung & Guney, Yilmaz & Hudson, Robert, 2023. "Managerial overconfidence and corporate cash holdings: Evidence from primary and secondary data," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    17. Ming-Chi Chen & Chin-Yu Wang & So-De Shyu, 2012. "Liquidity and the Future Stock Returns of the REIT Industry," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 45(3), pages 588-603, October.
    18. Natalia Nehrebecka & Anna Białek-Jaworska, 2016. "Determinanty inwestycji finansowych przedsiębiorstw w Polsce," Gospodarka Narodowa. The Polish Journal of Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, issue 3, pages 35-55.
    19. Inessa Love, 2003. "Financial Development and Financing Constraints: International Evidence from the Structural Investment Model," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 16(3), pages 765-791, July.
    20. Efstathios Magerakis & Konstantinos Gkillas & Athanasios Tsagkanos & Costas Siriopoulos, 2020. "Firm Size Does Matter: New Evidence on the Determinants of Cash Holdings," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-35, July.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Uncertainty; cash holdings; liquidity; non-financial firms;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G31 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Capital Budgeting; Fixed Investment and Inventory Studies
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • L14 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Transactional Relationships; Contracts and Reputation

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:diw:diwwpp:dp638. 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: Bibliothek (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/diwbede.html .

    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.