Using a unique sample of newly privatized firms from 59 countries, this study provides new evidence about the agency costs of state ownership and new insight into the corporate governance role of country-level institutions. Consistent with agency theory, we find strong and robust evidence that...

This study investigates the impact of COVID-19 exposure on corporate cash holdings using firm data across sixteen developing and developed economies. The results show that firms reserve more cash when their exposure to COVID-19 increases. We also find a cash burn effect during the COVID-19...