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Wall of cash: The investment-cash flow sensitivity when capital becomes abundant

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  • Andrén, Niclas
  • Jankensgård, Håkan

Abstract

In the mid 2000s the oil and gas industry was hit by what might be best described as a ‘wall of cash’ as oil prices successively reached new record levels and access to external financing improved greatly. In this article we investigate what this sudden abundance of liquidity implied for the investment-cash flow relationship, the interpretation of which continues to generate controversy in the literature. For financially constrained firms we find that the investment-cash flow sensitivity decreases in the abundance period (2005–2008), suggesting that the financing constraints became less binding in this period. For financially unconstrained firms the investment-cash flow sensitivity instead increases over time, suggesting that this relationship is driven by agency problems related to free cash flow. Our paper is the first in the investment-cash flow literature to bring evidence from a natural experiment in which there was an unexpected, exogenous, substantial, and persistent decrease in the cost of external financing.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrén, Niclas & Jankensgård, Håkan, 2015. "Wall of cash: The investment-cash flow sensitivity when capital becomes abundant," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 204-213.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbfina:v:50:y:2015:i:c:p:204-213
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbankfin.2014.10.010
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Corporate investment; Financing constraints; Agency costs; Investment-cash flow sensitivity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill

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