IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/corfin/v76y2022ics0929119922001067.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Right-to-Work laws and corporate innovation

Author

Listed:
  • Nguyen, Justin Hung
  • Qiu, Buhui

Abstract

We show that state right-to-work (RTW) laws significantly encourage corporate innovations in terms of patent grant and citation count. Consistent with the conjecture that the RTW-treated firms conduct more innovations due to their decreased financial distress risk, we find that the RTW adoption also significantly decreases treated firms' financial distress risk ex post, and its treatment effect on innovation outputs is stronger for treated firms that are ex ante more likely to experience financial distress. Further analysis indicates that treated firms intensify research and development expenditures and, likely due to their improved innovations, enhance their competitiveness in product markets.

Suggested Citation

  • Nguyen, Justin Hung & Qiu, Buhui, 2022. "Right-to-Work laws and corporate innovation," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:corfin:v:76:y:2022:i:c:s0929119922001067
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2022.102263
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0929119922001067
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2022.102263?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. Brav, Alon & Jiang, Wei & Ma, Song & Tian, Xuan, 2018. "How does hedge fund activism reshape corporate innovation?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(2), pages 237-264.
    2. Brogaard, Jonathan & Li, Dan & Xia, Ying, 2017. "Stock liquidity and default risk," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(3), pages 486-502.
    3. W. Robert Reed, 2003. "How Right-To-Work Laws Affect Wages," Journal of Labor Research, Transaction Publishers, vol. 24(4), pages 713-730, October.
    4. Matthew Serfling, 2016. "Firing Costs and Capital Structure Decisions," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 71(5), pages 2239-2286, October.
    5. Qiu, Buhui & Wang, Teng, 2018. "Does Knowledge Protection Benefit Shareholders? Evidence from Stock Market Reaction and Firm Investment in Knowledge Assets," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 53(3), pages 1341-1370, June.
    6. Zhdanov, Alexei, 2007. "Competitive Equilibrium with Debt," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 42(3), pages 709-734, September.
    7. Rajan, Raghuram G & Zingales, Luigi, 1998. "Financial Dependence and Growth," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(3), pages 559-586, June.
    8. Viral V. Acharya & Ramin P. Baghai & Krishnamurthy V. Subramanian, 2013. "Labor Laws and Innovation," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 56(4), pages 997-1037.
    9. Billett, Matthew T. & Garfinkel, Jon A. & Yu, Miaomiao, 2017. "The effect of asymmetric information on product market outcomes," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 123(2), pages 357-376.
    10. Matthew D. Shapiro, 1986. "The Dynamic Demand for Capital and Labor," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 101(3), pages 513-542.
    11. Leonid Kogan & Dimitris Papanikolaou & Amit Seru & Noah Stoffman, 2017. "Technological Innovation, Resource Allocation, and Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 132(2), pages 665-712.
    12. Joshua D. Angrist & Jörn-Steffen Pischke, 2009. "Mostly Harmless Econometrics: An Empiricist's Companion," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 8769.
    13. Thomas J. Chemmanur & Elena Loutskina & Xuan Tian, 2014. "Corporate Venture Capital, Value Creation, and Innovation," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 27(8), pages 2434-2473.
    14. Valta, Philip, 2012. "Competition and the cost of debt," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(3), pages 661-682.
    15. Josh Lerner & Julie Wulf, 2007. "Innovation and Incentives: Evidence from Corporate R&D," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 89(4), pages 634-644, November.
    16. Agrawal, Ashwini K. & Matsa, David A., 2013. "Labor unemployment risk and corporate financing decisions," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(2), pages 449-470.
    17. Xuan Tian & Tracy Yue Wang, 2014. "Tolerance for Failure and Corporate Innovation," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 27(1), pages 211-255, January.
    18. Viral V. Acharya & Ramin P. Baghai & Krishnamurthy V. Subramanian, 2014. "Wrongful Discharge Laws and Innovation," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 27(1), pages 301-346, January.
    19. Klasa, Sandy & Ortiz-Molina, Hernán & Serfling, Matthew & Srinivasan, Shweta, 2018. "Protection of trade secrets and capital structure decisions," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 128(2), pages 266-286.
    20. Dmitry Livdan & Horacio Sapriza & Lu Zhang, 2009. "Financially Constrained Stock Returns," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 64(4), pages 1827-1862, August.
    21. Gerard Hoberg & Gordon Phillips, 2016. "Text-Based Network Industries and Endogenous Product Differentiation," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 124(5), pages 1423-1465.
    22. Hall, Bronwyn H. & Lerner, Josh, 2010. "The Financing of R&D and Innovation," Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, in: Bronwyn H. Hall & Nathan Rosenberg (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 0, pages 609-639, Elsevier.
    23. James R. Brown & Steven M. Fazzari & Bruce C. Petersen, 2009. "Financing Innovation and Growth: Cash Flow, External Equity, and the 1990s R&D Boom," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 64(1), pages 151-185, February.
    24. James R. Brown & Gustav Martinsson & Bruce C. Petersen, 2013. "Law, Stock Markets, and Innovation," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 68(4), pages 1517-1549, August.
    25. Bronwyn H. Hall & Adam B. Jaffe & Manuel Trajtenberg, 2001. "The NBER Patent Citation Data File: Lessons, Insights and Methodological Tools," NBER Working Papers 8498, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    26. Charlene M. Kalenkoski & Donald J. Lacombe, 2006. "Right‐to‐Work Laws and Manufacturing Employment: The Importance of Spatial Dependence," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 73(2), pages 402-418, October.
    27. Yuming Zhang & Juanjuan Zhang & Zhang Cheng, 2021. "Stock Market Liberalization and Corporate Green Innovation: Evidence from China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(7), pages 1-22, March.
    28. Gormley, Todd A. & Matsa, David A., 2016. "Playing it safe? Managerial preferences, risk, and agency conflicts," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 122(3), pages 431-455.
    29. Merton, Robert C, 1974. "On the Pricing of Corporate Debt: The Risk Structure of Interest Rates," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 29(2), pages 449-470, May.
    30. Novit, Mitchell S., 1969. "Right-to-work: Before and after : The Indiana experience," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 12(5), pages 61-68, October.
    31. Joan Farre-Mensa & Alexander Ljungqvist, 2016. "Do Measures of Financial Constraints Measure Financial Constraints?," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 29(2), pages 271-308.
    32. Farber, Henry S, 1984. "Right-to-Work Laws and the Extent of Unionization," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 2(3), pages 319-352, July.
    33. Caggese, Andrea & Cuñat, Vicente & Metzger, Daniel, 2019. "Firing the wrong workers: Financing constraints and labor misallocation," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(3), pages 589-607.
    34. Barry T. Hirsch, 1980. "The Determinants of Unionization: An Analysis of Interarea Differences," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 33(2), pages 147-161, January.
    35. Daron Acemoglu, 2010. "When Does Labor Scarcity Encourage Innovation?," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 118(6), pages 1037-1078.
    36. Moshirian, Fariborz & Tian, Xuan & Zhang, Bohui & Zhang, Wenrui, 2021. "Stock market liberalization and innovation," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 139(3), pages 985-1014.
    37. 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.
    38. Bhagat, Sanjai & Welch, Ivo, 1995. "Corporate research & development investments international comparisons," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(2-3), pages 443-470, April.
    39. Paul J. Irvine & Jeffrey Pontiff, 2009. "Idiosyncratic Return Volatility, Cash Flows, and Product Market Competition," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(3), pages 1149-1177.
    40. Mohamed Ghaly & Viet Anh Dang & Konstantinos Stathopoulos, 2017. "Cash Holdings and Labor Heterogeneity: The Role of Skilled Labor," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 30(10), pages 3636-3668.
    41. Marianne Bertrand & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2003. "Enjoying the Quiet Life? Corporate Governance and Managerial Preferences," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 111(5), pages 1043-1075, October.
    42. Walter Y. Oi, 1962. "Labor as a Quasi-Fixed Factor," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 70, pages 538-538.
    43. Bronwyn H. Hall, 1990. "The Impact of Corporate Restructuring on Industrial Research and Development," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 21(1990 Micr), pages 85-135.
    44. Bolton, Patrick & Scharfstein, David S, 1990. "A Theory of Predation Based on Agency Problems in Financial Contracting," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 80(1), pages 93-106, March.
    45. Dongmei Li, 2011. "Financial Constraints, R&D Investment, and Stock Returns," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 24(9), pages 2974-3007.
    46. Cornaggia, Jess & Mao, Yifei & Tian, Xuan & Wolfe, Brian, 2015. "Does banking competition affect innovation?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(1), pages 189-209.
    47. Justin Hung Nguyen & Buhui Qiu, 2022. "The effect of skilled labor intensity on corporate dividend payouts," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(5-6), pages 963-1010, May.
    48. Michael Raith, 2003. "Competition, Risk, and Managerial Incentives," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(4), pages 1425-1436, September.
    49. 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.
    50. Frederico Belo & Jun Li & Xiaoji Lin & Xiaofei Zhao, 2017. "Labor-Force Heterogeneity and Asset Prices: The Importance of Skilled Labor," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 30(10), pages 3669-3709.
    51. Warren, Ronald S, Jr & Strauss, Robert P, 1979. "A Mixed Logit Model of the Relationship between Unionization and Right-to-Work Legislation: Comment," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 87(3), pages 648-655, June.
    52. Toni M. Whited & Guojun Wu, 2006. "Financial Constraints Risk," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 19(2), pages 531-559.
    53. Lewis, Craig M. & Tan, Yongxian, 2016. "Debt-equity choices, R&D investment and market timing," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(3), pages 599-610.
    54. David A. Matsa, 2010. "Capital Structure as a Strategic Variable: Evidence from Collective Bargaining," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 65(3), pages 1197-1232, June.
    55. Chen, Huafeng Jason & Kacperczyk, Marcin & Ortiz-Molina, Hernán, 2011. "Labor Unions, Operating Flexibility, and the Cost of Equity," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 46(1), pages 25-58, February.
    56. Charlene M. Kalenkoski & Donald J. Lacombe, 2006. "Right-to-work Laws and Manufacturing Employment: The Importance of Spatial Dependence," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 73(2), pages 402-418, October.
    57. Bronwyn H. Hall & Nathan Rosenberg (ed.), 2010. "Handbook of the Economics of Innovation," Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, Elsevier, edition 1, volume 1, number 1.
    58. Jan Bena & Kai Li, 2014. "Corporate Innovations and Mergers and Acquisitions," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 69(5), pages 1923-1960, October.
    59. Charles J. Hadlock & Joshua R. Pierce, 2010. "New Evidence on Measuring Financial Constraints: Moving Beyond the KZ Index," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 23(5), pages 1909-1940.
    60. Ellwood, David T & Fine, Glenn, 1987. "The Impact of Right-to-Work Laws on Union Organizing," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 95(2), pages 250-273, April.
    61. Paul J. Irvine & Jeffrey Pontiff, 2009. "Idiosyncratic Return Volatility, Cash Flows, and Product Market Competition," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(3), pages 1149-1177, March.
    62. Elena Simintzi & Vikrant Vig & Paolo Volpin, 2015. "Labor Protection and Leverage," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 28(2), pages 561-591.
    63. Myers, Stewart C., 1977. "Determinants of corporate borrowing," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 5(2), pages 147-175, November.
    64. Coles, Jeffrey L. & Lemmon, Michael L. & Felix Meschke, J., 2012. "Structural models and endogeneity in corporate finance: The link between managerial ownership and corporate performance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(1), pages 149-168.
    65. Titman, Sheridan & Wessels, Roberto, 1988. " The Determinants of Capital Structure Choice," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 43(1), pages 1-19, March.
    66. Mark J. Garmaise, 2008. "Production in Entrepreneurial Firms: The Effects of Financial Constraints on Labor and Capital," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 21(2), pages 543-577, April.
    67. Lumsden, Keith G & Petersen, Craig H, 1975. "The Effect of Right-to-Work Laws on Unionization in the United States," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 83(6), pages 1237-1248, December.
    68. Gerard Hoberg & Gordon Phillips, 2010. "Product Market Synergies and Competition in Mergers and Acquisitions: A Text-Based Analysis," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 23(10), pages 3773-3811, October.
    69. Daniel Bradley & Incheol Kim & Xuan Tian, 2017. "Do Unions Affect Innovation?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 63(7), pages 2251-2271, July.
    70. Christos Andreas Makridis, 2019. "Do Right-to-Work Laws Work? Evidence on Individuals’ Well-Being and Economic Sentiment," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 62(4), pages 713-745.
    71. Laurent Fresard, 2010. "Financial Strength and Product Market Behavior: The Real Effects of Corporate Cash Holdings," Post-Print hal-00537081, HAL.
    72. Sreedhar T. Bharath & Tyler Shumway, 2008. "Forecasting Default with the Merton Distance to Default Model," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 21(3), pages 1339-1369, May.
    73. Chava, Sudheer & Danis, András & Hsu, Alex, 2020. "The economic impact of right-to-work laws: Evidence from collective bargaining agreements and corporate policies," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 137(2), pages 451-469.
    74. Smith, Clifford Jr. & Warner, Jerold B., 1979. "On financial contracting : An analysis of bond covenants," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 7(2), pages 117-161, 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. Narayan, Paresh Kumar & Narayan, Seema & Tran, Vuong Thao, 2023. "Patent-related intellectual property and corporate investment," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 52(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. Li, Tongxia & Ang, Tze Chuan ‘Chewie’ & Lu, Chun, 2023. "Employment protection and the provision of trade credit," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    2. Dang, Viet A. & De Cesari, Amedeo & Phan, Hieu V., 2021. "Employment protection and share repurchases: Evidence from wrongful discharge laws," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    3. Yang, Huan, 2021. "Institutional dual holdings and risk-shifting: Evidence from corporate innovation," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    4. Moshirian, Fariborz & Tian, Xuan & Zhang, Bohui & Zhang, Wenrui, 2021. "Stock market liberalization and innovation," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 139(3), pages 985-1014.
    5. Beuselinck, Christof & Markarian, Garen & Verriest, Arnt, 2021. "Employee protection shocks and corporate cash holdings," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    6. Karpuz, Ahmet & Kim, Kirak & Ozkan, Neslihan, 2020. "Employment protection laws and corporate cash holdings," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    7. (DJ) Fairhurst, Douglas & Liu, Yanguang & Ni, Xiaoran, 2020. "Employment protection and tax aggressiveness: Evidence from wrongful discharge laws," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    8. Jiang, Jiaoliang & Chen, Yulin, 2021. "How does labor protection influence corporate risk-taking? Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    9. Chen Lin & Sibo Liu & Gustavo Manso, 2021. "Shareholder Litigation and Corporate Innovation," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(6), pages 3346-3367, June.
    10. Nguyen, Justin Hung, 2022. "How do labor adjustment costs affect corporate tax planning? Evidence from labor skills," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    11. Griffin, Paul A. & Hong, Hyun A. & Ryou, Ji Woo, 2018. "Corporate innovative efficiency: Evidence of effects on credit ratings," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 352-373.
    12. Hu, Xiaoxue & Li, Dongxu, 2022. "Do horizontal mergers affect rivals’ cash holdings?," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 275-298.
    13. Christof Beuselinck & Garen Markarian & Arnt Verriest, 2021. "Employee protection shocks and corporate cash holdings," Post-Print hal-03597869, HAL.
    14. Hasan, Iftekhar & (Stan) Hoi, Chun-Keung & Wu, Qiang & Zhang, Hao, 2020. "Is social capital associated with corporate innovation? Evidence from publicly listed firms in the U.S," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    15. Ghaly, Mohamed & Dang, Viet Anh & Stathopoulos, Konstantinos, 2020. "Institutional investors' horizons and corporate employment decisions," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    16. Kong, Dongmin & Zhang, Bohui & Zhang, Jian, 2022. "Higher education and corporate innovation," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    17. Campello, Murillo & Gao, Janet, 2017. "Customer concentration and loan contract terms," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 123(1), pages 108-136.
    18. Acharya, Viral & Xu, Zhaoxia, 2017. "Financial dependence and innovation: The case of public versus private firms," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(2), pages 223-243.
    19. Lily Nguyen & Le Vu & Xiangkang Yin, 2021. "Share repurchases and firm innovation," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 61(S1), pages 1665-1695, April.
    20. Ni, Xiaoran & Song, Wei & Yao, Jiaquan, 2020. "Stakeholder orientation and corporate payout policy: Insights from state legal shocks," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Right-to-work laws; Corporate innovations; Financial distress risk;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General
    • G38 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Government Policy and Regulation

    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:eee:corfin:v:76:y:2022:i:c:s0929119922001067. 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/jcorpfin .

    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.