IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jecomi/v11y2023i2p37-d1045229.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Economic Policy Uncertainty, Financial Leverage, and Corporate Investment: Evidence from U.S. Firms

Author

Listed:
  • Hamza Almustafa

    (Department of Banking and Financial Sciences, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, The Hashemite University, Zarqa 13133, Jordan)

  • Imad Jabbouri

    (School of Business Administration, Al Akhawayn University, Ifrane P.O. Box 104, Morocco)

  • Ploypailin Kijkasiwat

    (The Faculty of Business Administration and Accountancy, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen 40002, Thailand)

Abstract

This paper examines the effect of economic policy uncertainty (EPU) on firm-level investment and corporate financial leverage. The panel data of 1072 firms traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), New York Stock Exchange Market (NYSE MKT) (formerly known as American Stock Exchange—AMEX), or NASDAQ over the period 2012–2021 was analyzed using the fixed-effect model. The empirical results show that the financial leverage of a firm is negatively affected by EPU. Additionally, EPU depresses firms’ investment decisions and debt financing. Our results are robust when alternative measures of our main variables are used.

Suggested Citation

  • Hamza Almustafa & Imad Jabbouri & Ploypailin Kijkasiwat, 2023. "Economic Policy Uncertainty, Financial Leverage, and Corporate Investment: Evidence from U.S. Firms," Economies, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-19, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jecomi:v:11:y:2023:i:2:p:37-:d:1045229
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7099/11/2/37/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7099/11/2/37/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Syamala, Sudhakara Reddy & Wadhwa, Kavita & Goyal, Abhinav, 2017. "Determinants of commonality in liquidity: Evidence from an order-driven emerging market," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 38-52.
    2. Byomakesh Debata & Jitendra Mahakud, 2018. "Economic policy uncertainty and stock market liquidity," Journal of Financial Economic Policy, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 10(1), pages 112-135, April.
    3. Bajaj, Yukti & Kashiramka, Smita & Singh, Shveta, 2021. "Economic policy uncertainty and leverage dynamics: Evidence from an emerging economy," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    4. Im, Hyun Joong & Kang, Ya & Shon, Janghoon, 2020. "How does uncertainty influence target capital structure?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    5. Datta, Sudip & Doan, Trang & Iskandar-Datta, Mai, 2019. "Policy uncertainty and the maturity structure of corporate debt," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 44(C).
    6. Tran, Quoc Trung, 2019. "Economic policy uncertainty and corporate risk-taking: International evidence," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 52.
    7. Dawood Ashraf & Mohsin Khawaja & M. Ishaq Bhatti, 2022. "Raising capital amid economic policy uncertainty: an empirical investigation," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 8(1), pages 1-32, December.
    8. Al-Thaqeb, Saud Asaad & Algharabali, Barrak Ghanim, 2019. "Economic policy uncertainty: A literature review," The Journal of Economic Asymmetries, Elsevier, vol. 20(C).
    9. Wang, Yizhong & Chen, Carl R. & Huang, Ying Sophie, 2014. "Economic policy uncertainty and corporate investment: Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 227-243.
    10. Pástor, Ľuboš & Veronesi, Pietro, 2013. "Political uncertainty and risk premia," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(3), pages 520-545.
    11. Çolak, Gönül & Durnev, Art & Qian, Yiming, 2017. "Political Uncertainty and IPO Activity: Evidence from U.S. Gubernatorial Elections," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 52(6), pages 2523-2564, December.
    12. Lubos Pástor & Pietro Veronesi, 2012. "Uncertainty about Government Policy and Stock Prices," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 67(4), pages 1219-1264, August.
    13. Khoo, Joye & Cheung, Adrian (Wai Kong), 2021. "Does geopolitical uncertainty affect corporate financing? Evidence from MIDAS regression," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 47(C).
    14. de Jong, Abe & Kabir, Rezaul & Nguyen, Thuy Thu, 2008. "Capital structure around the world: The roles of firm- and country-specific determinants," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(9), pages 1954-1969, September.
    15. Scott R. Baker & Nicholas Bloom & Steven J. Davis, 2016. "Measuring Economic Policy Uncertainty," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 131(4), pages 1593-1636.
    16. Omer Brav, 2009. "Access to Capital, Capital Structure, and the Funding of the Firm," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 64(1), pages 263-308, February.
    17. Imad Jabbouri & Maryem Naili, 2019. "Does ownership concentration affect cost of debt? Evidence from an emerging market," Review of Behavioral Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 12(3), pages 282-296, August.
    18. Andrew B. Abel & Olivier J. Blanchard, 1986. "Investment and Sales: Some Empirical Evidence," NBER Working Papers 2050, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. Nguyen, Duc Nguyen & Nguyen, Canh Phuc & Dang, Le Phuong Xuan, 2022. "Uncertainty and corporate default risk: Novel evidence from emerging markets," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    20. Frank Obenpong Kwabi & Samuel Owusu-Manu & Agyenim Boateng & Ernest-Bruno Ezeani & Min Du, 2022. "Economic policy uncertainty and cost of capital: the mediating effects of foreign equity portfolio flow," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 59(2), pages 457-481, August.
    21. Masayuki Morikawa, 2016. "What Types of Policy Uncertainties Matter for Business?," Pacific Economic Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(5), pages 527-540, December.
    22. Brandon Julio & Youngsuk Yook, 2012. "Political Uncertainty and Corporate Investment Cycles," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 67(1), pages 45-84, February.
    23. Jonathan Brogaard & Andrew Detzel, 2015. "The Asset-Pricing Implications of Government Economic Policy Uncertainty," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 61(1), pages 3-18, January.
    24. Dang, Viet Anh & Kim, Minjoo & Shin, Yongcheol, 2014. "Asymmetric adjustment toward optimal capital structure: Evidence from a crisis," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 226-242.
    25. Ekinci, Cumhur & Akyildirim, Erdinc & Corbet, Shaen, 2019. "Analysing the dynamic influence of US macroeconomic news releases on Turkish stock markets," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 155-164.
    26. Javadi, Siamak & Mollagholamali, Mohsen & Nejadmalayeri, Ali & Al-Thaqeb, Saud, 2021. "Corporate cash holdings, agency problems, and economic policy uncertainty," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    27. Kang, Wensheng & Lee, Kiseok & Ratti, Ronald A., 2014. "Economic policy uncertainty and firm-level investment," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 39(PA), pages 42-53.
    28. Istiak, Khandokar & Serletis, Apostolos, 2020. "Risk, uncertainty, and leverage," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 257-273.
    29. Nguyen, Thao & Bai, Min & Hou, Yang & Vu, Manh-Chien, 2021. "Corporate governance and dynamics capital structure: evidence from Vietnam," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 48(C).
    30. Priyanka Naik & Y. V. Reddy, 2021. "Stock Market Liquidity: A Literature Review," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(1), pages 21582440209, January.
    31. Michael J. Brennan & Holger Kraft, 2018. "Leaning Against the Wind: Debt Financing in the Face of Adversity," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 47(3), pages 485-518, September.
    32. Umer Iqbal & Christopher Gan & Muhammad Nadeem, 2020. "Economic policy uncertainty and firm performance," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(10), pages 765-770, June.
    33. Gozgor, Giray & Demir, Ender & Belas, Jaroslav & Yesilyurt, Serkan, 2019. "Does economic uncertainty affect domestic credits? an empirical investigation," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    34. Lee, Chien-Chiang & Lee, Chi-Chuan & Zeng, Jhih-Hong & Hsu, Yu-Ling, 2017. "Peer bank behavior, economic policy uncertainty, and leverage decision of financial institutions," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 79-91.
    35. Hvozdyk, Lyudmyla & Rustanov, Serik, 2016. "The effect of financial transaction tax on market liquidity and volatility: An Italian perspective," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 62-78.
    36. Bradley, Daniel & Pantzalis, Christos & Yuan, Xiaojing, 2016. "Policy risk, corporate political strategies, and the cost of debt," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 254-275.
    37. Pan, Wei-Fong & Wang, Xinjie & Yang, Shanxiang, 2019. "Debt maturity, leverage, and political uncertainty," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    38. Eugene F. Fama, 2002. "Testing Trade-Off and Pecking Order Predictions About Dividends and Debt," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 15(1), pages 1-33, March.
    39. Anton, Sorin Gabriel & Afloarei Nucu, Anca Elena, 2020. "The effect of financial development on renewable energy consumption. A panel data approach," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 147(P1), pages 330-338.
    40. Hayam Wahba, 2014. "Capital structure, managerial ownership and firm performance: evidence from Egypt," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 18(4), pages 1041-1061, November.
    41. Drobetz, Wolfgang & El Ghoul, Sadok & Guedhami, Omrane & Janzen, Malte, 2018. "Policy uncertainty, investment, and the cost of capital," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 28-45.
    42. Yan Jiang & Yaping Xu & Shengsheng Li, 2022. "How Does Monetary Policy Uncertainty Influence Firms’ Dynamic Adjustment of Capital Structure," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(1), pages 21582440211, January.
    43. Phan, Dinh Hoang Bach & Sharma, Susan Sunila & Tran, Vuong Thao, 2018. "Can economic policy uncertainty predict stock returns? Global evidence," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 134-150.
    44. Zhang, Guangli & Han, Jianlei & Pan, Zheyao & Huang, Haozhi, 2015. "Economic policy uncertainty and capital structure choice: Evidence from China," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 439-457.
    45. Demir, Ender & Ersan, Oguz, 2017. "Economic policy uncertainty and cash holdings: Evidence from BRIC countries," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 189-200.
    46. Tran, Quoc Trung, 2021. "Economic policy uncertainty and cost of debt financing: International evidence," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    47. He, Lerong & Huang, Liying & Fang, Liting, 2022. "Institutional conditions, economic policy uncertainty and foreign institutional investment in China," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    48. Graham, John R. & Leary, Mark T. & Roberts, Michael R., 2015. "A century of capital structure: The leveraging of corporate America," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(3), pages 658-683.
    49. Malcolm Baker & Jeffrey Wurgler, 2002. "Market Timing and Capital Structure," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(1), pages 1-32, February.
    50. Hamza Almustafa, 2022. "National Governance Quality, COVID-19, and Stock Index Returns: OECD Evidence," Economies, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-16, September.
    51. Chen, Xikai & Le, Cao Hoang Anh & Shan, Yaowen & Taylor, Stephen, 2020. "Australian policy uncertainty and corporate investment," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    52. Haddad, Kamal & Lotfaliei, Babak, 2019. "Trade-off theory and zero leverage," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 165-170.
    53. Hartman, Richard, 1972. "The effects of price and cost uncertainty on investment," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 5(2), pages 258-266, October.
    54. Amess, Kevin & Banerji, Sanjay & Lampousis, Athanasios, 2015. "Corporate cash holdings: Causes and consequences," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 421-433.
    55. Fernández-Amador, Octavio & Gächter, Martin & Larch, Martin & Peter, Georg, 2013. "Does monetary policy determine stock market liquidity? New evidence from the euro zone," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 21(C), pages 54-68.
    56. George S. Atsalakis & Elie Bouri & Fotios Pasiouras, 2021. "Natural disasters and economic growth: a quantile on quantile approach," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 306(1), pages 83-109, November.
    57. Yaming Ma & Ziwei Wang & Feng He, 2022. "How do economic policy uncertainties affect stock market volatility? Evidence from G7 countries," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(2), pages 2303-2325, April.
    58. Huseyin Gulen & Mihai Ion, 2016. "Editor's Choice Policy Uncertainty and Corporate Investment," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 29(3), pages 523-564.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Bajaj, Yukti & Kashiramka, Smita & Singh, Shveta, 2021. "Economic policy uncertainty and leverage dynamics: Evidence from an emerging economy," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    2. Lee, Chi-Chuan & Lee, Chien-Chiang & Xiao, Shunyi, 2021. "Policy-related risk and corporate financing behavior: Evidence from China’s listed companies," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 539-547.
    3. Schwarz, Lucas Allan Diniz & Dalmácio, Flávia Zóboli, 2021. "The relationship between economic policy uncertainty and corporate leverage: Evidence from Brazil," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 40(C).
    4. Fedorova, Elena & Ledyaeva, Svetlana & Drogovoz, Pavel & Nevredinov, Alexandr, 2022. "Economic policy uncertainty and bankruptcy filings," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    5. Dawood Ashraf & Mohsin Khawaja & M. Ishaq Bhatti, 2022. "Raising capital amid economic policy uncertainty: an empirical investigation," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 8(1), pages 1-32, December.
    6. Tran, Quoc Trung, 2021. "Economic policy uncertainty and cost of debt financing: International evidence," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    7. Theodora Bermpei & Antonios Nikolaos Kalyvas & Lorenzo Neri & Antonella Russo, 2022. "Does economic policy uncertainty matter for financial reporting quality? Evidence from the United States," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 58(2), pages 795-845, February.
    8. Cui, Xin & Wang, Chunfeng & Liao, Jing & Fang, Zhenming & Cheng, Feiyang, 2021. "Economic policy uncertainty exposure and corporate innovation investment: Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    9. Azimli, Asil, 2022. "The impact of policy, political and economic uncertainty on corporate capital investment in the emerging markets of Eastern Europe and Turkey," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 46(2).
    10. Pan, Wei-Fong & Wang, Xinjie & Yang, Shanxiang, 2019. "Debt maturity, leverage, and political uncertainty," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    11. Shabir, Mohsin & Jiang, Ping & Shahab, Yasir & Wang, Peng, 2023. "Geopolitical, economic uncertainty and bank risk: Do CEO power and board strength matter?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    12. Afzali, Mansoor & Ҫolak, Gönül & Fu, Mengchuan, 2021. "Economic uncertainty and corruption: Evidence from public and private firms," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    13. Nguyen, Minh Hong & Trinh, Vu Quang, 2023. "U.K. economic policy uncertainty and innovation activities: A firm-level analysis," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    14. Vural-Yavaş, Çiğdem, 2020. "Corporate risk-taking in developed countries: The influence of economic policy uncertainty and macroeconomic conditions," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    15. Caixe, Daniel Ferreira, 2022. "Corporate governance and investment sensitivity to policy uncertainty in Brazil," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(PB).
    16. Tran, Quoc Trung, 2019. "Economic policy uncertainty and corporate risk-taking: International evidence," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 52.
    17. Ma, Huanyu & Hao, Dapeng, 2022. "Economic policy uncertainty, financial development, and financial constraints: Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 368-386.
    18. Ahmad, Muhammad Farooq & Aziz, Saqib & El-Khatib, Rwan & Kowalewski, Oskar, 2023. "Firm-level political risk and dividend payout," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    19. Al-Thaqeb, Saud Asaad & Algharabali, Barrak Ghanim, 2019. "Economic policy uncertainty: A literature review," The Journal of Economic Asymmetries, Elsevier, vol. 20(C).
    20. Shabir, Mohsin & Jiang, Ping & Bakhsh, Satar & Zhao, Zhongxiu, 2021. "Economic policy uncertainty and bank stability: Threshold effect of institutional quality and competition," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).

    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:gam:jecomi:v:11:y:2023:i:2:p:37-:d:1045229. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.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.