IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/acctfi/v47y2007i1p85-108.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Effects of financial constraints on corporate policies in Australia

Author

Listed:
  • Xin Chang
  • Tek Jun Tan
  • George Wong
  • Hongfeng Zhang

Abstract

We jointly study the impact of financial constraints on Australian companies’ investment decisions and demand for liquidity. By examining a large sample of Australian firms over the period 1990–2003, we find that financial constraints not only reduce the sensitivity of investment to the availability of internal funds, but also increase the responsiveness of cash holdings to internally generated cash flows. Further analysis shows that the impact of financial constraints varies across different cash flow states; that is, financial constraints have a small effect on corporate investment and cash policies when cash flows are positive. In contrast, the severity of constraints is high in negative cash flow years in which the cost disadvantage of external finance coincides with deteriorating operating performance.

Suggested Citation

  • Xin Chang & Tek Jun Tan & George Wong & Hongfeng Zhang, 2007. "Effects of financial constraints on corporate policies in Australia," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 47(1), pages 85-108, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:acctfi:v:47:y:2007:i:1:p:85-108
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-629X.2007.00200.x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-629X.2007.00200.x
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/j.1467-629X.2007.00200.x?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gilchrist, Simon & Himmelberg, Charles P., 1995. "Evidence on the role of cash flow for investment," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 541-572, December.
    2. 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.
    3. 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.
    4. 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.
    5. Steven M. Fazzari & R. Glenn Hubbard & Bruce C. Petersen, 1988. "Financing Constraints and Corporate Investment," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 19(1), pages 141-206.
    6. Lang, Larry & Ofek, Eli & Stulz, Rene M., 1996. "Leverage, investment, and firm growth," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(1), pages 3-29, January.
    7. Blundell, Richard & Bond, Stephen & Devereux, Michael & Schiantarelli, Fabio, 1992. "Investment and Tobin's Q: Evidence from company panel data," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 51(1-2), pages 233-257.
    8. Allayannis, George & Mozumdar, Abon, 2004. "The impact of negative cash flow and influential observations on investment-cash flow sensitivity estimates," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 28(5), pages 901-930, May.
    9. 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.
    10. Jensen, Michael C. & Meckling, William H., 1976. "Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 305-360, October.
    11. Takeo Hoshi & Anil Kashyap & David Scharfstein, 1991. "Corporate Structure, Liquidity, and Investment: Evidence from Japanese Industrial Groups," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 106(1), pages 33-60.
    12. Sean Cleary, 1999. "The Relationship between Firm Investment and Financial Status," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 54(2), pages 673-692, April.
    13. Vasilev, Aleksandar & Maksumov, Rashid, 2010. "Critical analysis of Chapter 23 of Keynes’s Notes on Mercantilism in The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money (1936)," EconStor Research Reports 155318, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    14. Heitor Almeida & Murillo Campello & Michael S. Weisbach, 2004. "The Cash Flow Sensitivity of Cash," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 59(4), pages 1777-1804, August.
    15. Steven N. Kaplan & Luigi Zingales, 1997. "Do Investment-Cash Flow Sensitivities Provide Useful Measures of Financing Constraints?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 112(1), pages 169-215.
    16. Kadapakkam, Palani-Rajan & Kumar, P. C. & Riddick, Leigh A., 1998. "The impact of cash flows and firm size on investment: The international evidence," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 293-320, March.
    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. Coad, Alex, 2010. "Neoclassical vs evolutionary theories of financial constraints: Critique and prospectus," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 21(3), pages 206-218, August.
    2. Chan, Howard & Chang, Xin & Faff, Robert & Wong, George, 2010. "Financial constraints and stock returns -- Evidence from Australia," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 306-318, June.
    3. Xin Qu & Majella Percy & Fang Hu & Jenny Stewart, 2022. "Can CEO equity‐based compensation limit investment‐related agency problems?," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(2), pages 2579-2614, June.
    4. Howard W. H. Chan & Yufei Lu & Hong F. Zhang, 2013. "The effect of financial constraints, investment policy, product market competition and corporate governance on the value of cash holdings," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 53(2), pages 339-366, June.
    5. Basty Nadia, 2016. "Corporate Investment and Cash-Flow Sensitivity: Evidence from a Jasmin Revolution Period in Tunisian Market," Asian Economic and Financial Review, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 6(11), pages 634-646, November.
    6. Nidhi Singh, 2018. "Effect of Cash Holding Policy of Financially Constrained Firms on Their Market Performance," Management and Labour Studies, XLRI Jamshedpur, School of Business Management & Human Resources, vol. 43(1-2), pages 31-45, February.
    7. Julio Pindado & Chabela De La Torre, 2009. "Effect of ownership structure on underinvestment and overinvestment: empirical evidence from Spain," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 49(2), pages 363-383, June.
    8. Carlos Carreira & Filipe Silva, 2010. "No Deep Pockets: Some Stylized Empirical Results On Firms’ Financial Constraints," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(4), pages 731-753, September.
    9. Gurmeet Singh Bhabra & Parvinder Kaur & Ahn Seoungpil, 2018. "Corporate governance and the sensitivity of investments to cash flows," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 58(2), pages 367-396, June.
    10. Adriana S. Cordis & Chris Kirby, 2017. "Capital expenditures and firm performance: evidence from a cross†sectional analysis of stock returns," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 57(4), pages 1019-1042, December.

    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. Günay, Hüseyin & Kılınç, Mustafa, 2015. "Credit market imperfections and business cycle asymmetries in Turkey," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 79-98.
    2. Gayané Hovakimian, 2009. "Determinants of Investment Cash Flow Sensitivity," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 38(1), pages 161-183, March.
    3. Valentina Peruzzi, 2017. "Does family ownership structure affect investment-cash flow sensitivity? Evidence from Italian SMEs," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(43), pages 4378-4393, September.
    4. Schauer, Catharina & Elsas, Ralf & Breitkopf, Nikolas, 2019. "A new measure of financial constraints applicable to private and public firms," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 270-295.
    5. Gaurav Gupta & Jitendra Mahakud, 2019. "Alternative measure of financial development and investment-cash flow sensitivity: evidence from an emerging economy," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 5(1), pages 1-28, December.
    6. Bert D'Espallier & Sigrid Vandemaele & Ludo Peeters, 2008. "Investment-Cash Flow Sensitivities or Cash-Cash Flow Sensitivities? An Evaluative Framework for Measures of Financial Constraints," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(7-8), pages 943-968.
    7. Degryse, Hans & de Jong, Abe, 2006. "Investment and internal finance: Asymmetric information or managerial discretion?," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 125-147, January.
    8. Serin Choi & Seoki Lee & Kyuwan Choi & Kyung-A Sun, 2018. "Investment–cash flow sensitivities of restaurant firms," Tourism Economics, , vol. 24(5), pages 560-575, August.
    9. Bert D'Espallier & Sigrid Vandemaele & Ludo Peeters, 2008. "Investment‐Cash Flow Sensitivities or Cash‐Cash Flow Sensitivities? An Evaluative Framework for Measures of Financial Constraints," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(7‐8), pages 943-968, September.
    10. Bhagat, Sanjai & Moyen, Nathalie & Suh, Inchul, 2005. "Investment and internal funds of distressed firms," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 11(3), pages 449-472, June.
    11. Xin Qu & Majella Percy & Fang Hu & Jenny Stewart, 2022. "Can CEO equity‐based compensation limit investment‐related agency problems?," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(2), pages 2579-2614, June.
    12. Fabio Bertoni & María Ferrer & José Martí, 2013. "The different roles played by venture capital and private equity investors on the investment activity of their portfolio firms," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 40(3), pages 607-633, April.
    13. Jean-Bernard Chatelain, 2003. "Structural modelling of financial constraints on investment: where do we stand?," Chapters, in: Paul Butzen & Catherine Fuss (ed.), Firms’ Investment and Finance Decisions, chapter 2, pages 40-58, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    14. Schleicher, Thomas & Tahoun, Ahmed & Walker, Martin, 2010. "IFRS adoption in Europe and investment-cash flow sensitivity: Outsider versus insider economies," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 45(2), pages 143-168, June.
    15. Hovakimian, Gayane & Titman, Sheridan, 2006. "Corporate Investment with Financial Constraints: Sensitivity of Investment to Funds from Voluntary Asset Sales," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 38(2), pages 357-374, March.
    16. Théo Nicolas, 2019. "How Do Short-term Financial Constraints Affect SMEs’ Long-Term Investment: Evidence from the Working Capital Channel," Working papers 731, Banque de France.
    17. Carpenter, Robert E. & Guariglia, Alessandra, 2008. "Cash flow, investment, and investment opportunities: New tests using UK panel data," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(9), pages 1894-1906, September.
    18. Fatematuz Tamanna Ahamed & Muhammad Nurul Houqe & Tony van Zijl, 2023. "Meta‐analysis of the impact of financial constraints on firm performance," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(2), pages 1671-1707, June.
    19. Millet-Reyes, Benedicte, 2000. "The deregulation of capital markets in France," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 10(2), pages 109-132, June.
    20. Sevcan Yesiltas, 2009. "Financing Constraints and Investment: The Case of Turkish Manufacturing Firms," 2009 Meeting Papers 874, Society for Economic Dynamics.

    More about this item

    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:bla:acctfi:v:47:y:2007:i:1:p:85-108. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/aaanzea.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.