IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/finana/v90y2023ics1057521923003800.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Corruption, political connection, and firm investments

Author

Listed:
  • Nguyen, Hieu Quang

Abstract

I provide evidence that U.S. firms in more corrupt areas have lower investment expenditure than firms in less corrupt areas. A one standard deviation increase in corruption rate is associated with a 8.6% decline in a firm’s investment from the median. Firms with a high degree of geographical concentration cut investment spending more aggressively in response to corruption. Notably, firms primarily scale down on research and development. I also find that political connections insulate firms from the negative impact of corruption. The investment reduction effect is almost non-existent in firms well connected to politicians. This finding further affirms the advantage that politically connected firms enjoy over non-connected firms.

Suggested Citation

  • Nguyen, Hieu Quang, 2023. "Corruption, political connection, and firm investments," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finana:v:90:y:2023:i:c:s1057521923003800
    DOI: 10.1016/j.irfa.2023.102864
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1057521923003800
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.irfa.2023.102864?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. Huang, Qianqian & Yuan, Tao, 2021. "Does Political Corruption Impede Firm Innovation? Evidence from the United States," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 56(1), pages 213-248, February.
    2. Simeon Djankov & Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes & Andrei Shleifer, 2002. "The Regulation of Entry," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 117(1), pages 1-37.
    3. Ellis, Jesse & Smith, Jared & White, Roger, 2020. "Corruption and Corporate Innovation," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 55(7), pages 2124-2149, November.
    4. Biddle, Gary C. & Hilary, Gilles & Verdi, Rodrigo S., 2009. "How does financial reporting quality relate to investment efficiency?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(2-3), pages 112-131, December.
    5. Raymond Fisman & Yongxiang Wang, 2015. "The Mortality Cost of Political Connections," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 82(4), pages 1346-1382.
    6. Thompson, Samuel B., 2011. "Simple formulas for standard errors that cluster by both firm and time," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(1), pages 1-10, January.
    7. William Easterly & Ross Levine, 1997. "Africa's Growth Tragedy: Policies and Ethnic Divisions," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 112(4), pages 1203-1250.
    8. Acemoglu, Daron & Verdier, Thierry, 1998. "Property Rights, Corruption and the Allocation of Talent: A General Equilibrium Approach," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 108(450), pages 1381-1403, September.
    9. Marco Túlio Dinali Viglioni & Manuel Portugal Ferreira & Carlos Eduardo Stefaniak Aveline & Juciara Nunes de Alcântara, 2022. "Corruption, R&D and performance: firm-level evidence from Latin America," Journal of Applied Accounting Research, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 23(4), pages 806-824, March.
    10. Colonnelli, Emanuele & Lagaras, Spyridon & Ponticelli, Jacopo & Prem, Mounu & Tsoutsoura, Margarita, 2022. "Revealing corruption: Firm and worker level evidence from Brazil," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(3), pages 1097-1119.
    11. A. Colin Cameron & Jonah B. Gelbach & Douglas L. Miller, 2011. "Robust Inference With Multiway Clustering," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(2), pages 238-249, April.
    12. Dal Bo, Ernesto & Rossi, Martin A., 2007. "Corruption and inefficiency: Theory and evidence from electric utilities," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(5-6), pages 939-962, June.
    13. Narjess Boubakri & Sattar A Mansi & Walid Saffar, 2013. "Political institutions, connectedness, and corporate risk-taking," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 44(3), pages 195-215, April.
    14. William R. Kerr & William F. Lincoln & Prachi Mishra, 2014. "The Dynamics of Firm Lobbying," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 6(4), pages 343-379, November.
    15. Jonathan Brogaard & Matthew Denes & Ran Duchin & David Denis, 2021. "Political Influence and the Renegotiation of Government Contracts," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 34(6), pages 3095-3137.
    16. Bombardini, Matilde & Trebbi, Francesco, 2012. "Competition and political organization: Together or alone in lobbying for trade policy?," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(1), pages 18-26.
    17. Jeffrey M Wooldridge, 2010. "Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 2, volume 1, number 0262232588, December.
    18. Smith, Jared D., 2016. "US political corruption and firm financial policies," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 121(2), pages 350-367.
    19. Eitan Goldman & Jörg Rocholl & Jongil So, 2009. "Do Politically Connected Boards Affect Firm Value?," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(6), pages 2331-2360, June.
    20. Michael J. Cooper & Huseyin Gulen & Alexei V. Ovtchinnikov, 2010. "Corporate Political Contributions and Stock Returns," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 65(2), pages 687-724, April.
    21. Lorenzo Caprio & Mara Faccio & John J. McConnell, 2013. "Sheltering Corporate Assets from Political Extraction," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 29(2), pages 332-354, April.
    22. Thomas Stratmann & J.W. Verret, 2015. "How Does Corporate Political Activity Allowed by Citizens United v. FEC Affect Shareholder Wealth?," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 58(3).
    23. Akey, Pat & Heimer, Rawley Z. & Lewellen, Stefan, 2021. "Politicizing consumer credit," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 139(2), pages 627-655.
    24. Christopher F Baum & Mark E. Schaffer & Steven Stillman, 2007. "Enhanced routines for instrumental variables/generalized method of moments estimation and testing," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 7(4), pages 465-506, December.
    25. A. Colin Cameron & Douglas L. Miller, 2015. "A Practitioner’s Guide to Cluster-Robust Inference," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 50(2), pages 317-372.
    26. Joel F. Houston & Liangliang Jiang & Chen Lin & Yue Ma, 2014. "Political Connections and the Cost of Bank Loans," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(1), pages 193-243, March.
    27. Marianne Bertrand & Esther Duflo & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2004. "How Much Should We Trust Differences-In-Differences Estimates?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 119(1), pages 249-275.
    28. Kostovetsky, Leonard, 2015. "Political capital and moral hazard," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 116(1), pages 144-159.
    29. Xiao, Gang & Shen, Sichen, 2022. "To pollute or not to pollute: Political connections and corporate environmental performance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    30. Zhao, Meiyu & Zhang, Bo, 2023. "Credit corruption, financial constraint and corporate innovation: Evidence on China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    31. Child, Travers Barclay & Massoud, Nadia & Schabus, Mario & Zhou, Yifan, 2021. "Surprise election for Trump connections," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 140(2), pages 676-697.
    32. Alexander W. Butler & Larry Fauver & Sandra Mortal, 2009. "Corruption, Political Connections, and Municipal Finance," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(7), pages 2673-2705, July.
    33. Fisman, Raymond & Svensson, Jakob, 2007. "Are corruption and taxation really harmful to growth? Firm level evidence," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(1), pages 63-75, May.
    34. Noel Johnson & Courtney LaFountain & Steven Yamarik, 2011. "Corruption is bad for growth (even in the United States)," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 147(3), pages 377-393, June.
    35. Axel Dreher & Martin Gassebner, 2013. "Greasing the wheels? The impact of regulations and corruption on firm entry," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 155(3), pages 413-432, June.
    36. Borisova, Ginka & Fotak, Veljko & Holland, Kateryna & Megginson, William L., 2015. "Government ownership and the cost of debt: Evidence from government investments in publicly traded firms," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(1), pages 168-191.
    37. Lauren Cohen & Joshua Coval & Christopher Malloy, 2011. "Do Powerful Politicians Cause Corporate Downsizing?," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 119(6), pages 1015-1060.
    38. Pat Akey, 2015. "Valuing Changes in Political Networks: Evidence from Campaign Contributions to Close Congressional Elections," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 28(11), pages 3188-3223.
    39. Pranab Bardhan, 1997. "Corruption and Development: A Review of Issues," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 35(3), pages 1320-1346, September.
    40. Olken, Benjamin A., 2009. "Corruption perceptions vs. corruption reality," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(7-8), pages 950-964, August.
    41. Arellano, M, 1987. "Computing Robust Standard Errors for Within-Groups Estimators," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 49(4), pages 431-434, November.
    42. Carol A. Corrado & Charles R. Hulten, 2010. "How Do You Measure a "Technological Revolution"?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(2), pages 99-104, May.
    43. Mara Faccio & Hung-Chia Hsu, 2017. "Politically Connected Private Equity and Employment," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 72(2), pages 539-574, April.
    44. García, Diego & Norli, Øyvind, 2012. "Geographic dispersion and stock returns," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(3), pages 547-565.
    45. repec:eme:jaar00:jaar-07-2021-0193 is not listed on IDEAS
    46. Adelino, Manuel & Dinc, I. Serdar, 2014. "Corporate distress and lobbying: Evidence from the Stimulus Act," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(2), pages 256-272.
    47. Lui, Francis T, 1985. "An Equilibrium Queuing Model of Bribery," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 93(4), pages 760-781, August.
    48. Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 1994. "Politicians and Firms," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 109(4), pages 995-1025.
    49. Paolo Mauro, 1995. "Corruption and Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 110(3), pages 681-712.
    50. Vial, Virginie & Hanoteau, Julien, 2010. "Corruption, Manufacturing Plant Growth, and the Asian Paradox: Indonesian Evidence," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(5), pages 693-705, May.
    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. Colonnelli, Emanuele & Lagaras, Spyridon & Ponticelli, Jacopo & Prem, Mounu & Tsoutsoura, Margarita, 2022. "Revealing corruption: Firm and worker level evidence from Brazil," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(3), pages 1097-1119.
    2. Du, Qingjie & Heo, Yuna, 2022. "Political corruption, Dodd–Frank whistleblowing, and corporate investment," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    3. Xuejun Jiang & Louise Lu, 2021. "How do US investors perceive the risk of local political corruption? Evidence from acquisition announcement," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 61(1), pages 885-912, March.
    4. Zhaohua Li & Xiaofei Pan, 2023. "Relationship investment and local corruption environment: Evidence from China," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(4), pages 4597-4628, December.
    5. Hinh Khieu & Nam H. Nguyen & Hieu V. Phan & Jon A. Fulkerson, 2023. "Political Corruption and Corporate Risk-Taking," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 184(1), pages 93-113, April.
    6. repec:pdn:wpaper:79 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Krisztina Kis-Katos & Günther G. Schulze, 2013. "Corruption in Southeast Asia: a survey of recent research," Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, The Crawford School, The Australian National University, vol. 27(1), pages 79-109, May.
    8. repec:pdn:wpaper:70 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Hossain, Ashrafee Tanvir & Hossain, Takdir & Kryzanowski, Lawrence, 2021. "Political corruption and corporate payouts," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    10. Huang, Chia-Wei & Lin, Chih-Yen & Lin, Wen-Chun & Tsai, Yun-Ching, 2022. "Corruption transfer and acquisition performance," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    11. Yang, Hao & Zhang, Qiusheng & Zhao, Xiaofang & Wang, Zhongchao, 2022. "Does political corruption affect mergers and acquisitions decisions? Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 248-266.
    12. Cai, Weixing & Hu, Feng & Xu, Fangming & Zheng, Liyi, 2022. "Anti-corruption campaign and corporate cash holdings: Evidence from China," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(PA).
    13. Li, Guangzi & Chan, Kam C., 2021. "Anti-corruption intensity and loan contracting: Evidence from non-state owned firms in China," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    14. Nguyen, Ngoc Anh & Doan, Quang Hung & Nguyen, Ngoc Minh & Tran-Nam, Binh, 2016. "The impact of petty corruption on firm innovation in Vietnam," MPRA Paper 71902, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Park, SeHyun, 2023. "Profitability of politically corrupt firms: Evidence from Romania," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    16. Yan-Leung Cheung & P. Raghavendra Rau & Aris Stouraitis, 2021. "What Determines the Return to Bribery? Evidence from Corruption Cases Worldwide," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(10), pages 6235-6265, October.
    17. 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).
    18. Toke S. Aidt, 2009. "Corruption, institutions, and economic development," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 25(2), pages 271-291, Summer.
    19. Zhou, Yifan, 2023. "Politically influenced bank lending," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    20. El Ghoul, Sadok & Guedhami, Omrane & Wei, Zuobao & Zhu, Yicheng, 2023. "Does public corruption affect analyst forecast quality?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    21. Ashrafee Tanvir Hossain & Lawrence Kryzanowski & Xiao Bing Ma, 2020. "U.S. Political Corruption And Loan Pricing," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 43(3), pages 459-489, August.
    22. Nguyen, Nam H. & Phan, Hieu V. & Simpson, Thuy, 2020. "Political corruption and mergers and acquisitions," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Investment; Corruption; Political connection; Campaign contribution;
    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
    • G38 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:eee:finana:v:90:y:2023:i:c:s1057521923003800. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/620166 .

    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.