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Is cash the panacea of the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from corporate performance

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  • Zheng, Michael

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of COVID-19 crisis on corporate investment and financing policies. Using a difference-in-difference approach, I find while firms suffer from a real negative shock from the pandemic on average, firms with an abundant cash reserve prior to the crisis outperform firms without. Consistent with the precautionary motive behind corporate cash holdings, this paper demonstrates the effect of cash holdings is meaningful to mitigate adverse effect of the aggregate market. My finding also highlights the difficulty in estimating the optimal cash level when rare market condition is considered.

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  • Zheng, Michael, 2022. "Is cash the panacea of the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from corporate performance," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 45(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finlet:v:45:y:2022:i:c:s1544612321002324
    DOI: 10.1016/j.frl.2021.102151
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    Cited by:

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    2. Ntantamis, Christos & Zhou, Jun, 2022. "Corporate payout, cash holdings, and the COVID-19 crisis: Evidence from the G-7 countries," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    3. Aristovnik, Aleksander & Yang, Guo-liang & Song, Yao-yao & Ravšelj, Dejan, 2023. "Industrial performance of the top R&D enterprises in world-leading economies: A metafrontier approach," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    4. Iyer, Subramanian Rama & Simkins, Betty J., 2022. "COVID-19 and the Economy: Summary of research and future directions," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 47(PB).
    5. Fasano, Francesco & Javier Sánchez-Vidal, F. & La Rocca, Maurizio, 2022. "The role of government policies for Italian firms during the COVID-19 crisis," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    COVID-19; Pandemic; Cash; Investment; Financing; Payout; Profitability; Corporate liquidity; Financing constraints; Risk management;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G01 - Financial Economics - - General - - - Financial Crises
    • 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
    • G35 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Payout Policy

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