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Zombie firms: Prevalence, determinants, and corporate policies

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  • El Ghoul, Sadok
  • Fu, Zhengwei
  • Guedhami, Omrane

Abstract

Using a comprehensive dataset of firms from seventy-nine countries, we document the incidence, determinants, and corporate policies of zombie firms for the 2005–2016 period. Zombie firms account for roughly 10% of our observations. We find that countries with more efficient debt enforcement environments tend to have fewer zombie firms. We find no evidence that the prevalence of zombie firms is related to national culture. We further find that zombie firms have conservative dividend and investment policies, aggressive leverage policies, and higher idiosyncratic risk. We conclude that zombie firms may impose a cost on the economy by impeding efficient resource allocation.

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  • El Ghoul, Sadok & Fu, Zhengwei & Guedhami, Omrane, 2021. "Zombie firms: Prevalence, determinants, and corporate policies," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 41(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finlet:v:41:y:2021:i:c:s1544612320316901
    DOI: 10.1016/j.frl.2020.101876
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    8. Ryan Niladri Banerjee & Boris Hofmann, 2018. "The rise of zombie firms: causes and consequences," BIS Quarterly Review, Bank for International Settlements, September.
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    10. Storz, Manuela & Koetter, Michael & Setzer, Ralph & Westphal, Andreas, 2017. "Do we want these two to tango? On zombie firms and stressed banks in Europe," Working Paper Series 2104, European Central Bank.
    11. Müge Adalet McGowan & Dan Andrews & Valentine Millot & Thorsten BeckManaging Editor, 2018. "The walking dead? Zombie firms and productivity performance in OECD countries," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 33(96), pages 685-736.
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    14. Boubakri, Narjess & El Ghoul, Sadok & Guedhami, Omrane & Megginson, William L., 2018. "The market value of government ownership," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 44-65.
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    1. Li, Xinyu & Wang, Huacheng & Li, Rong, 2023. "A hidden channel of “blood transfusion”: Internal capital market subsidies and zombie firms," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 55(6).
    2. Samik Shome & Sushma Verma, 2025. "Zombie firms: a systematic review and future research directions," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 75(3), pages 2309-2368, September.
    3. Edward I. Altman & Rui Dai & Wei Wang, 2024. "Global zombie companies: measurements, determinants, and outcomes," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 55(6), pages 723-744, August.
    4. Honda, Tomohito & Hosono, Kaoru & Miyakawa, Daisuke & Ono, Arito & Uesugi, Iichiro, 2023. "Determinants and effects of the use of COVID-19 business support programs in Japan," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    5. Tan, Ruipeng & Zhu, Wenjun & Pan, Lulu & Wu, Huaqing, 2024. "Short selling and de-zombification: Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 93(PB), pages 86-102.
    6. Tan, Ruipeng & Zhu, Wenjun & Xu, Mengmeng & Zhang, Zixuan, 2025. "From voluntary to mandatory implementation: The impact of green credit policy on de-zombification in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    7. Nora Muñoz-Izquierdo & José Manuel Jiménez Mazarío & María-del-Mar Camacho-Miñano, 2024. "Zombie firms and disclosures in the expanded audit report," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 18(6), pages 1519-1555, June.
    8. Jing Bu & Julan Du & Jiancai Pi, 2024. "Do zombie firms affect healthy firms' exporting? Evidence from China," Economics of Transition and Institutional Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 32(3), pages 707-738, July.
    9. Zhu, Ruoyu & Tan, Kehu & Xin, Xiaohui, 2024. "Does the opening of high-speed rail inhibit corporate zombification?," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 93(PA), pages 372-389.
    10. Zhang, Xiaoqian & Huang, Bin, 2022. "Does bank competition inhibit the formation of zombie firms?," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 1045-1060.
    11. Yongcuo Zhaxi & Yukihiro Yasuda, 2024. "Determinants of Zombie Firms: The Impact of Corporate Insolvency Efficiency and Cultural Factors," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 17(8), pages 1-13, July.
    12. Wang, Changrong & Richardson, Grant & Cao, Yanming, 2024. "Long live the walking dead? Corporate tax avoidance and zombie firms in China," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(3).
    13. Fukuda, Akira & Yamamoto, Isamu, 2025. "Ex-ante and ex-post evaluation of zombie firms arising from the EAS program during the COVID-19 pandemic: A study of Japanese SMEs," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    14. Ono, Arito & Suzuki, Katsushi & Uesugi, Iichiro, 2024. "When banks become pure creditors: The effects of declining shareholding by Japanese banks on bank lending and firms’ risk-taking," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    15. Feng, Ling & Lang, Henan & Pei, Tingting, 2022. "Zombie firms and corporate savings: Evidence from Chinese manufacturing firms," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 551-564.

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • G33 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Bankruptcy; Liquidation

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