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The determinants of effective corporate lobbying

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  • Richard Borghesi
  • Kiyoung Chang

Abstract

In this paper we study whether capital markets view lobbying activities to be value enhancing by examining the effects of lobbying on excess returns and stock return volatility. We undertake our analysis cautious that there are significant differences between the characteristics of lobbying and non-lobbying firms. Specifically, firm size, free cash flows, and R&D intensity are critically important factors that may drive results of our and other lobbying research. We show that once properly accounting for the effects of firm size, a managerial agency problem in lobbying is apparent. Initially we find that shareholders experience either no discernible or else negative excess returns in response to firm lobbing efforts. Results are even stronger when corrections are made for endogeneity issues. Further, evidence presented suggests that lobbying firms have higher volatility of stock returns, and we show that volatility is greater for firms that lobby more intensely. However, for R&D-intensive firms, and for those firms with low agency problems, lobbying does contribute to the long-term benefit of shareholders. Overall, results suggest that lobbying leads to positive excess returns when agency problems are low and R&D is high, and leads to negative excess returns otherwise. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015

Suggested Citation

  • Richard Borghesi & Kiyoung Chang, 2015. "The determinants of effective corporate lobbying," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 39(3), pages 606-624, July.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:jecfin:v:39:y:2015:i:3:p:606-624
    DOI: 10.1007/s12197-014-9287-1
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    Cited by:

    1. Almaghrabi, Khadija S. & Tsalavoutas, Ioannis, 2022. "Political spending, related voluntary disclosure, and the cost of public debt," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    2. Lockhart, George Brandon & Unlu, Emre, 2018. "Does corporate lobbying activity provide useful information to credit markets?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 128-157.
    3. Maria D. Tito & Ruoying Wang, 2021. "Misallocation in Open Economy," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2021-007, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    4. Papadimitri, Panagiota & Pasiouras, Fotios & Pescetto, Gioia & Wohlschlegel, Ansgar, 2021. "Does political influence distort banking regulation? Evidence from the US," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    5. Van De Vrande, Vareska & Subramanian, Annapoornima M. & Lévesque, Moren & Klopf, Patricia, 2024. "The interdependent influence of lobbying and intellectual capital on new drug development," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(2).
    6. Hassan, Mohammad Kabir & Unsal, Omer & Hippler, William J., 2020. "Financial industry lobbying and shareholder litigation outcomes: implications for managers and regulators," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Lobbying; Excess returns; Volatility; Agency problems; R&D; G31; G32; G34; G38;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • 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
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance
    • G38 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Government Policy and Regulation

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