Using a broad range of uncertainty measures, we show that uncertainty dramatically slows down firms' adjustments toward their optimal capital structure. At the upper bound, the estimated speed of leverage adjustments almost halves when uncertainty is high. High quality institutions (common law...

This paper investigates the link between corporate investments, eco-nomic policy uncertainty and the quality of institutional environments. The corporate investments of private firms in 10 European countries from 2009 to 2018 were examined and a negative effect of economic policy uncertainty on...