Using detailed project-level data, we document a novel mechanism through which information externalities distort investment. Firms anticipate information spillover from peers’ investment decisions and delay project exercise to learn from their peers’ outcomes. To establish a causal...

We study the effects of monetary-policy-induced changes in Tobin's q on corporate investment and capital structure. We develop a theory of the mechanism, provide empirical evidence, evaluate the ability of the quantitative theory to match the evidence, and quantify the relevance for monetary...

We use the stochastic frontier approach to estimate the impact of firm characteristics on investment decisions of Indian firms during the 1997-2006 period. The use of the stochastic frontier approach allows us to define the (unobserved) optimum investment that is consistent with a firm's...

This paper contributes empirically to the ‘Excess Sensitivity' literature by arguing that results obtained by using investment-cash flow sensitivity as a metric to represent finance constraint of firms can be misleading. This is because cash flow apart from signaling change in net worth may...

An important debate in the literature relates to the use of investment-cash flow sensitivity (ICFS) to measure finance constraint faced by firms. This debate is grounded on four prominent issues: a priori sorting of firms, treatment of distressed firms, use of cash flow to represent only...

Empirical evidence suggests that capital structure varies across firms facing different levels of information asymmetry, however, this evidence contradict the prediction of pecking order hypothesis. Although debt capacity constraints offer some explanation for this discrepancy, it fails to...

We analyze credit ratings' effects on firms' investments in a rational debt-financing game that features a feedback loop. The credit rating agency (CRA) inflates the rating, providing a biased but informative signal to creditors. Creditors' response to the rating affects the firm's investment...

We develop a model of real investment and cash holdings in which firms face uncertaintyregarding their ability to raise funds in the capital markets and have to search for investorswhen raising outside capital. We provide an explicit characterization of the optimal investment,cash management,...

We develop a model of investment, payout, and financing policies in which firms face uncertainty regarding their ability to raise funds and have to search for investors when in need of capital. We show that capital supply uncertainty leads firms to value financial slack and to adjust their...

Peers' valuation matters for firms' investment: a one standard deviation increase in peers' valuation is associated with a 5.9% increase in corporate investment. This association is stronger when a firm's stock price informativeness is lower or when its managers appear less informed. Also, the...