IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eco/journ1/2016-02-28.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Cash Flow Sensitivity of Cash: A Cross Country Analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Syed Manzur Quader

    (Independent Business School, Chittagong Independent University, 16, Jamal Khan, Chittagong, Bangladesh)

  • Mohammed Nayeem Abdullah

    (Independent Business School, Chittagong Independent University, 16, Jamal Khan, Chittagong, Bangladesh)

Abstract

Using a large panel of 5086 firms from 7 European countries, namely Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherland, Sweden and UK over the period of 1981 to 2010, we made attempt to see the effect of financial constraints on international corporate policies based on their liquidity demand. Controlling for firm size, investment opportunities and alternative sources and competing uses of funds, a firm's decision to change its cash holdings is found to be positively and significantly related with internal cash flows. Our results further reveal that constrained firms like to save relatively more cash out of their cash inflows, whereas the unconstrained firms do not maintain any such significant cash hoarding behavior. The observed relationships prevail for the whole sample, within each countries and remain consistent across different estimation procedures and alternative financial constraint criteria. Our results thus point to the fact that average firms in our sample face constrained access to external finance due to financially imperfect and incomplete markets

Suggested Citation

  • Syed Manzur Quader & Mohammed Nayeem Abdullah, 2016. "Cash Flow Sensitivity of Cash: A Cross Country Analysis," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 6(2), pages 562-572.
  • Handle: RePEc:eco:journ1:2016-02-28
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.econjournals.com/index.php/ijefi/article/download/1825/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: http://www.econjournals.com/index.php/ijefi/article/view/1825/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Steven M. Fazzari & Bruce C. Petersen, 1993. "Working Capital and Fixed Investment: New Evidence on Financing Constraints," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 24(3), pages 328-342, Autumn.
    2. 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.
    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. Timothy Erickson & Toni M. Whited, 2000. "Measurement Error and the Relationship between Investment and q," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 108(5), pages 1027-1057, October.
    5. Yi-Chen Lin, 2007. "The cash flow sensitivity of cash: evidence from Taiwan," Applied Financial Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(12), pages 1013-1024.
    6. Leigh A. Riddick & Toni M. Whited, 2009. "The Corporate Propensity to Save," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 64(4), pages 1729-1766, August.
    7. Stephen Bond & Julie Ann Elston & Jacques Mairesse & Benoît Mulkay, 2003. "Financial Factors and Investment in Belgium, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom: A Comparison Using Company Panel Data," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 85(1), pages 153-165, February.
    8. Cleary, Sean & Povel, Paul & Raith, Michael, 2007. "The U-Shaped Investment Curve: Theory and Evidence," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 42(1), pages 1-39, March.
    9. Gros, Daniel, 2012. "Macroeconomic Imbalances in the Euro Area: Symptom or cause of the crisis?," CEPS Papers 6865, Centre for European Policy Studies.
    10. Schiantarelli, Fabio, 1996. "Financial Constraints and Investment: Methodological Issues and International Evidence," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 12(2), pages 70-89, Summer.
    11. Sean Cleary, 1999. "The Relationship between Firm Investment and Financial Status," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 54(2), pages 673-692, April.
    12. 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.
    13. Grzegorz Pawlina & Luc Renneboog, 2005. "Is Investment‐Cash Flow Sensitivity Caused by Agency Costs or Asymmetric Information? Evidence from the UK," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 11(4), pages 483-513, September.
    14. Heitor Almeida & Murillo Campello & Michael S. Weisbach, 2002. "Corporate Demand for Liquidity," NBER Working Papers 9253, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. 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.
    16. Audretsch, David B. & Elston, Julie Ann, 2002. "Does firm size matter? Evidence on the impact of liquidity constraints on firm investment behavior in Germany," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 1-17, January.
    17. J. Hirshleifer, 1958. "On the Theory of Optimal Investment Decision," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 66, pages 329-329.
    18. 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.
    19. Steven N. Kaplan & Luigi Zingales, 2000. "Investment-Cash Flow Sensitivities Are Not Valid Measures of Financing Constraints," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 115(2), pages 707-712.
    20. R. Glenn Hubbard, 1998. "Capital-Market Imperfections and Investment," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 36(1), pages 193-225, March.
    21. 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.
    22. 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.
    23. 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.
    24. Bond, Stephen & Van Reenen, John, 2007. "Microeconometric Models of Investment and Employment," Handbook of Econometrics, in: J.J. Heckman & E.E. Leamer (ed.), Handbook of Econometrics, edition 1, volume 6, chapter 65, Elsevier.
    25. Robert Lensink & Hong Bo & Elmer Sterken, 2001. "Investment, Capital Market Imperfections, and Uncertainty," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 1770.
    26. 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.
    27. Bao, Dichu & Chan, Kam C. & Zhang, Weining, 2012. "Asymmetric cash flow sensitivity of cash holdings," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 18(4), pages 690-700.
    28. Robert Watson & Nick Wilson, 2002. "Small and Medium Size Enterprise Financing: A Note on Some of the Empirical Implications of a Pecking Order," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(3&4), pages 557-578.
    29. Spaventa, Luigi & Giavazzi, Francesco, 2010. "Why the current account may matter in a monetary union: Lessons from the financial crisis in the Euro area," CEPR Discussion Papers 8008, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    30. Rajan, Raghuram G. & Zingales, Luigi, 2003. "The great reversals: the politics of financial development in the twentieth century," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(1), pages 5-50, July.
    31. Audretsch, David B. & Elston, Julie Ann, 2002. "Does firm size matter? Evidence on the impact of liquidity constraints on firm investment behavior in Germany," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 1-17, January.
    32. Aggarwal, Raj & Zong, Sijing, 2006. "The cash flow-investment relationship: International evidence of limited access to external finance," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 16(1), pages 89-104, February.
    33. Stiglitz, Joseph E & Weiss, Andrew, 1981. "Credit Rationing in Markets with Imperfect Information," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 71(3), pages 393-410, June.
    34. Robert Watson & Nick Wilson, 2002. "Small and Medium Size Enterprise Financing: A Note on Some of the Empirical Implications of a Pecking Order," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(3‐4), pages 557-578, April.
    35. 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.
    36. Stein, Jeremy C., 2003. "Agency, information and corporate investment," Handbook of the Economics of Finance, in: G.M. Constantinides & M. Harris & R. M. Stulz (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Finance, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 2, pages 111-165, Elsevier.
    37. 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.
    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. Galya Taseva-Petkova, 2021. "Determinants of the ability of SMEs in Bulgaria to cover their current liabilities with the cash flow from their operating activities," Economic Thought journal, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences - Economic Research Institute, issue 4, pages 115-125.
    2. Galya Taseva, 2020. "Determinants of Short-term Liabilities of Financially Distressed SME-s," Business Management, D. A. Tsenov Academy of Economics, Svishtov, Bulgaria, issue 1 Year 20, pages 5-24.

    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. 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. Manzur Quader & Karl Taylor, 2018. "Corporate efficiency, credit status and investment," The European Journal of Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(6), pages 439-457, April.
    3. Vijayakumaran, Ratnam, 2021. "Impact of managerial ownership on investment and liquidity constraints: Evidence from Chinese listed companies," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    4. Dirk Engel & Joel Stiebale, 2014. "Private equity, investment and financial constraints: firm-level evidence for France and the United Kingdom," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 43(1), pages 197-212, June.
    5. Milos Markovic & Michael A. Stemmer, 2017. "Firm Growth Dynamics and Financial Constraints: Evidence from Serbian Firms," Documents de travail du Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne 17012, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris 1), Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne.
    6. 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.
    7. Filipe Silva & Carlos Carreira, 2012. "Measuring Firms’ Financial Constraints: A Rough Guide," Notas Económicas, Faculty of Economics, University of Coimbra, issue 36, pages 23-46, December.
    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. 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.
    10. 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.
    11. 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.
    12. Borisova, Ginka & Brown, James R., 2013. "R&D sensitivity to asset sale proceeds: New evidence on financing constraints and intangible investment," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 159-173.
    13. Brown, James R. & Petersen, Bruce C., 2009. "Why has the investment-cash flow sensitivity declined so sharply? Rising R&D and equity market developments," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(5), pages 971-984, May.
    14. Paul Mizen & Cihan Yalcin, 2006. "Monetary Policy, Corporate Financial Composition and Real Activity," CESifo Economic Studies, CESifo, vol. 52(1), pages 177-213, March.
    15. Fabio Bertoni & Massimo G. Colombo & Annalisa Croce, 2010. "The Effect of Venture Capital Financing on the Sensitivity to Cash Flow of Firm's Investments," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 16(4), pages 528-551, September.
    16. Hanna Hottenrott & Bettina Peters, 2012. "Innovative Capability and Financing Constraints for Innovation: More Money, More Innovation?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 94(4), pages 1126-1142, November.
    17. Annalisa Croce & José Martí, 2017. "Financial constraints in family firms and the role of venture capital," Economia e Politica Industriale: Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Springer;Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale, vol. 44(1), pages 119-144, March.
    18. 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.
    19. 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.
    20. Joanna Tyrowicz, 2007. "Blame No One ?Investment Decisions of the Polish Stock-Listed Companies," Brussels Economic Review, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles, vol. 50(4), pages 391-410.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Asymmetric Information; Financial Constraints; Cash Hoarding;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C26 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Instrumental Variables (IV) Estimation
    • D92 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Intertemporal Firm Choice, Investment, Capacity, and Financing
    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading
    • L21 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Business Objectives of the 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:eco:journ1:2016-02-28. 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: Ilhan Ozturk (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.econjournals.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.