Rising Intangible Capital, Shrinking Debt Capacity, and the U.S. Corporate Savings Glut
研究了无形资本上升如何通过压缩企业债务能力，导致美国企业现金持有量长期增长，解释了平均现金比率趋势的四分之三。
ABSTRACT This paper explores the connection between rising intangible capital and the secular upward trend in U.S. corporate cash holdings. We calibrate a dynamic model with two productive assets—tangible and intangible capital—in which only tangible capital can serve as collateral. We highlight the following points: (i) a shift toward intangible capital shrinks firms' debt capacity and leads them to hold more cash, (ii) the effect accounts for three‐quarters of the observed trend in average cash ratios, and (iii) it also accounts for the upward trend of cash ratios in the cross‐section of small and large firms and in the aggregate.