Firm investment steering through state-level policy uncertainty

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-1-2023

Abstract

Does state-level policy uncertainty (SPU) stifle firm investment? We document fresh evidence of a strong negative association between SPU and firms’ capital spending. This finding remains robust after excluding states with overrepresentation, through alternative measures of investment and SPU, as well as during low- and high-SPU periods. Furthermore, this effect is stronger for firms facing low market competition. Interestingly, however, firms intensifying lobbying efforts can maintain higher investments during policy turmoil. Additional analyses propose that the mitigating role of lobbying may be explained by the lobbying firms’ greater access to debt financing. Using matched samples based on propensity score matching (PSM) estimation ensures the empirical resilience of these findings.

Publication Title

Finance Research Letters

DOI

10.1016/j.frl.2023.104470

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