Underinvestment vs. overinvestment: Evidence from price reactions to pension contributions

作者：Franzoni Francesco^*

来源：Journal of Financial Economics, 2009, 92(3): 491-518.

DOI：10.1016/j.jfineco.2008.06.004

• Financial constraints
• Corporate governance
• Underinvestment
• Overinvestment

Mandatory contributions to defined benefit pension plans provide a unique identification strategy to estimate the market's assessment of the value of internal resources controlling for investment opportunities. The price decrease following a pension-induced drop in cash is magnified for firms that appear a priori more financially constrained, suggesting a negative effect of financing frictions on investment. In contrast, low control on managerial discretion attenuates the negative price reaction to contributions consistent with empire-building theories. While overinvestment seems to be the prevalent distortion in a panel of large firms, underinvestment appears to dominate in a sample that is more representative of the cross-section of listed companies.

• 出版日期2009-6