Why Do Firms Hold Cash? Evidence from Demographic Demand Shifts
利用人口结构变化带来的需求波动，研究企业因预防性动机而持有现金的行为，发现投资机会增加时企业会显著增持现金，且融资约束不同的企业在现金积累和使用方式上存在差异。
Abstract We exploit variation in demand induced by demographics to provide causal evidence of the precautionary motive of cash holdings. We show that firms significantly increase their cash levels in response to exogenous increases in investment opportunities. We also provide novel evidence of the dynamics of accumulation and use of cash. Financially constrained firms build their cash reserves using internal sources. Consequently, they start saving earlier and keep high cash levels longer. Unconstrained firms rely on external financing to both invest and build cash reserves, requiring them to save less and allowing them to incur lower costs of carry. Authors have furnished an Internet Appendix, which is available on the Oxford University Press Web site next to the link to the final published paper online.