The effect of uncertainty on equilibrium wage rates causes uncertainty to have a negative impact on marginal q. In turn, uncertainty reduces corporate investment and employment. Using a novel firm-level measure of cash flow uncertainty, we find empirically that uncertainty has a strong negative...

We show that Tobin's q, as proxied by the ratio of the firm's market value to its book value, increases with the firm's systematic equity risk and falls with the firm's unsystematic equity risk. Further, an increase in the firm's total equity risk is associated with a fall in q. The negative...