IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/pal/ijodag/v22y2025i1d10.1057_s41310-024-00230-x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The impact of economic policy uncertainty on capital structure decisions: Does institutional ownership characteristics matter?

Author

Listed:
  • Sourour Ben Saad

    (Higher Institute of Finance and Taxation of Sousse (ISFF), LaREMFiQ, University of Sousse
    University of Sousse)

  • Lotfi Belkacem

    (University of Sousse
    Institute of High Commercial Studies of Sousse (IHEC), LaREMFiQ, University of Sousse)

Abstract

This paper aims, first, to investigate the effect of EPU and institutional ownership characteristics on capital structure decisions and, second, to examine the role of institutional investors characteristics during the periods of uncertainty. Based on a sample of 2100 firm-year observations from the French non-financial companies over the period of 2006–2019, this study uses panel data regressions, two stage least squares and propensity score matching. We find that firms tend to lower their leverage ratios when policy uncertainty increases. Furthermore, we show that capital structure decisions depend on institutional ownership characteristics. Our results, also, indicate that the presence of active investors, such as long-term institutional ownership and institutional common ownership, helps to mitigate the financing frictions in uncertainty periods.

Suggested Citation

  • Sourour Ben Saad & Lotfi Belkacem, 2025. "The impact of economic policy uncertainty on capital structure decisions: Does institutional ownership characteristics matter?," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 22(1), pages 81-93, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:pal:ijodag:v:22:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1057_s41310-024-00230-x
    DOI: 10.1057/s41310-024-00230-x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s41310-024-00230-x
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1057/s41310-024-00230-x?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. Stewart C. Myers & Nicholas S. Majluf, 1984. "Corporate Financing and Investment Decisions When Firms Have InformationThat Investors Do Not Have," NBER Working Papers 1396, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Myers, Stewart C. & Majluf, Nicholas S., 1984. "Corporate financing and investment decisions when firms have information that investors do not have," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(2), pages 187-221, June.
    3. Elyasiani, Elyas & Jia, Jingyi (Jane) & Mao, Connie X., 2010. "Institutional ownership stability and the cost of debt," Journal of Financial Markets, Elsevier, vol. 13(4), pages 475-500, November.
    4. Chatjuthamard, Pattanaporn & Wongboonsin, Patcharawalai & Kongsompong, Kritika & Jiraporn, Pornsit, 2020. "Does economic policy uncertainty influence executive risk-taking incentives?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 37(C).
    5. 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).
    6. 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).
    7. Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W, 1986. "Large Shareholders and Corporate Control," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 94(3), pages 461-488, June.
    8. Nguyen, Nam H. & Phan, Hieu V., 2017. "Policy Uncertainty and Mergers and Acquisitions," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 52(2), pages 613-644, April.
    9. repec:bla:jfinan:v:53:y:1998:i:1:p:131-162 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Pástor, Ľuboš & Veronesi, Pietro, 2013. "Political uncertainty and risk premia," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(3), pages 520-545.
    11. Alex Edmans & Doron Levit & Devin Reilly, 2019. "Governance Under Common Ownership," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 32(7), pages 2673-2719.
    12. Mitchell A. Petersen, 2009. "Estimating Standard Errors in Finance Panel Data Sets: Comparing Approaches," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(1), pages 435-480, January.
    13. Erwan Morellec & Boris Nikolov & Norman Schürhoff, 2012. "Corporate Governance and Capital Structure Dynamics," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 67(3), pages 803-848, June.
    14. Jensen, Michael C, 1986. "Agency Costs of Free Cash Flow, Corporate Finance, and Takeovers," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(2), pages 323-329, May.
    15. Helwege, Jean & Intintoli, Vincent J. & Zhang, Andrew, 2012. "Voting with their feet or activism? Institutional investors’ impact on CEO turnover," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 22-37.
    16. Ni, Xiaoran & Yin, David, 2023. "Is institutional common ownership commonly priced? Insights from the cost of equity capital," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    17. Phan, Hieu V. & Nguyen, Nam H. & Nguyen, Hien T. & Hegde, Shantaram, 2019. "Policy uncertainty and firm cash holdings," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 71-82.
    18. Frank, Murray Z. & Goyal, Vidhan K., 2004. "The effect of market conditions on capital structure adjustment," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 1(1), pages 47-55, March.
    19. 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.
    20. 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.
    21. Bonaime, Alice & Gulen, Huseyin & Ion, Mihai, 2018. "Does policy uncertainty affect mergers and acquisitions?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 129(3), pages 531-558.
    22. 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.
    23. Gyimah, Daniel & Kwansa, Nana Abena & Kyiu, Anthony K. & Sikochi, Anywhere (Siko), 2021. "Multinationality and capital structure dynamics: A corporate governance explanation," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    24. Johnson, Simon & Boone, Peter & Breach, Alasdair & Friedman, Eric, 2000. "Corporate governance in the Asian financial crisis," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(1-2), pages 141-186.
    25. Tran, Dung Viet & Hoang, Khanh & Nguyen, Cuong, 2021. "How does economic policy uncertainty affect bank business models?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 39(C).
    26. Sun, Ji & Ding, Li & Guo, Jie Michael & Li, Yichen, 2016. "Ownership, capital structure and financing decision: Evidence from the UK," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 48(4), pages 448-463.
    27. Loncan, Tiago, 2020. "Foreign institutional ownership and corporate cash holdings: Evidence from emerging economies," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    28. Harford, Jarrad & Kecskés, Ambrus & Mansi, Sattar, 2018. "Do long-term investors improve corporate decision making?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 424-452.
    29. Huang, Hsu-Huei & Chan, Min-Lee & Huang, I-Hsiang & Chang, Chih-Hsiang, 2011. "Stock price volatility and overreaction in a political crisis: The effects of corporate governance and performance," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 1-20, January.
    30. Li, Xiao-Ming & Qiu, Mei, 2021. "The joint effects of economic policy uncertainty and firm characteristics on capital structure: Evidence from US firms," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    31. Paul Moon Sub Choi & Joung Hwa Choi & Chune Young Chung & Yun Joo An, 2020. "Corporate Governance and Capital Structure: Evidence from Sustainable Institutional Ownership," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-8, May.
    32. Kalyani Mulchandani & Ketan Mulchandani, 2022. "Does institutional ownership limit classification shifting: evidence from Indian firms," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 19(4), pages 466-477, December.
    33. Belén Villalonga & María‐Andrea Trujillo & Alexander Guzmán & Neila Cáceres, 2019. "What Are Boards For? Evidence from Closely Held Firms in Colombia," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 48(2), pages 537-573, June.
    34. Li-Kai (Connie) Liao & Tarun Mukherjee & Wei Wang, 2015. "Corporate Governance And Capital Structure Dynamics: An Empirical Study," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 38(2), pages 169-192, June.
    35. Friedman, Eric & Johnson, Simon & Mitton, Todd, 2003. "Propping and tunneling," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(4), pages 732-750, December.
    36. Malcolm Baker & Jeffrey Wurgler, 2002. "Market Timing and Capital Structure," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(1), pages 1-32, February.
    37. Boubaker, Sabri & Chourou, Lamia & Saadi, Samir & Zhong, Ligang, 2019. "Does institutional investor horizon influence US corporate financing decisions?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 382-394.
    38. Myers, Stewart C, 1984. "The Capital Structure Puzzle," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 39(3), pages 575-592, July.
    39. Phan, Dinh Hoang Bach & Iyke, Bernard Njindan & Sharma, Susan Sunila & Affandi, Yoga, 2021. "Economic policy uncertainty and financial stability–Is there a relation?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 1018-1029.
    40. Brown, Stephen & Dutordoir, Marie & Veld, Chris & Veld-Merkoulova, Yulia, 2019. "What is the role of institutional investors in corporate capital structure decisions? A survey analysis," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 270-286.
    41. Cline, Brandon N. & Fu, Xudong & Tang, Tian, 2020. "Shareholder investment horizons and bank debt financing," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    42. Stewart C. Myers, 1984. "Capital Structure Puzzle," NBER Working Papers 1393, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    43. Goodell, John W. & Goyal, Abhinav & Urquhart, Andrew, 2021. "Uncertainty of uncertainty and firm cash holdings," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
    44. Moh'd, Mahmoud A & Perry, Larry G & Rimbey, James N, 1995. "An Investigation of the Dynamic Relationship between Agency Theory and Dividend Policy," The Financial Review, Eastern Finance Association, vol. 30(2), pages 367-385, May.
    45. Francis, Bill B. & Hasan, Iftekhar & Zhu, Yun, 2014. "Political uncertainty and bank loan contracting," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 281-286.
    46. 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.
    47. Driss, Hamdi & Drobetz, Wolfgang & El Ghoul, Sadok & Guedhami, Omrane, 2021. "Institutional investment horizons, corporate governance, and credit ratings: International evidence," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    48. Kaviani, Mahsa S. & Kryzanowski, Lawrence & Maleki, Hosein & Savor, Pavel, 2020. "Policy uncertainty and corporate credit spreads," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 138(3), pages 838-865.
    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. 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.
    2. 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).
    3. El Ghoul, Sadok & Guedhami, Omrane & Mansi, Sattar & Wang, He (Helen), 2023. "Economic policy uncertainty, institutional environments, and corporate cash holdings," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    4. 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).
    5. 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).
    6. Muhammad Arif Khan & Xuezhi Qin & Khalil Jebran, 2020. "Uncertainty and leverage nexus: does trade credit matter?," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 10(3), pages 355-389, September.
    7. Tran, Dung Viet & Nguyen, Cuong, 2023. "Policy uncertainty and bank’s funding costs: The effects of the financial crisis, Covid-19 pandemic, and market discipline," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    8. Christos Floros & Emilios Galariotis & Konstantinos Gkillas & Efstathios Magerakis & Constantin Zopounidis, 2024. "Time-varying firm cash holding and economic policy uncertainty nexus: a quantile regression approach," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 341(2), pages 859-895, October.
    9. Cui, Di & Ding, Mingfa & Han, Yikai & Suardi, Sandy, 2022. "Foreign shareholders, relative foreign policy uncertainty and corporate cash holdings," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    10. Zahid Jumah & Nabeel Safdar & Zahid Irshad Younas & Adeel Ahmed, 2024. "Economic policy uncertainty, corporate diversification and firm value: the global evidence," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 58(3), pages 2677-2707, June.
    11. Tran, Dung Viet & Hassan, M. Kabir & Alam, Ahmed W. & Pezzo, Luca & Abdul-Majid, Mariani, 2021. "Economic policy uncertainty, agency problem, and funding structure: Evidence from U.S. banking industry," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    12. Çolak, Gönül & Gungoraydinoglu, Ali & Öztekin, Özde, 2018. "Global leverage adjustments, uncertainty, and country institutional strength," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 35(PA), pages 41-56.
    13. Adra, Samer & Gao, Yang & Huang, Jin & Yuan, Jiayi, 2023. "Geopolitical risk and corporate payout policy," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    14. Bijoy Chandra Das & Fakhrul Hasan & Soma Rani Sutradhar, 2024. "The impact of economic policy uncertainty and inflation risk on corporate cash holdings," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 62(3), pages 865-887, April.
    15. Caixe, Daniel Ferreira, 2022. "Corporate governance and investment sensitivity to policy uncertainty in Brazil," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(PB).
    16. Ampenberger, Markus & Schmid, Thomas & Achleitner, Ann-Kristin & Kaserer, Christoph, 2009. "Capital structure decisions in family firms: empirical evidence from a bank-based economy," CEFS Working Paper Series 2009-05, Technische Universität München (TUM), Center for Entrepreneurial and Financial Studies (CEFS).
    17. Li, Xiang & Su, Dan, 2020. "How does economic policy uncertainty affect corporate debt maturity?," IWH Discussion Papers 6/2020, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).
    18. Xiaoqiong Wang & Siqi Wei & Xiaoyang Zhu, 2024. "Economic policy uncertainty and heterogeneous institutional investor horizons," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 62(1), pages 39-67, January.
    19. Shams, Syed & Gunaskerage, Abeyratna & Velayutham, Eswaran, 2022. "Economic policy uncertainty and acquisition performance: Australian evidence," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 286-308.
    20. 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.

    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:pal:ijodag:v:22:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1057_s41310-024-00230-x. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.palgrave.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.