I explore the passage of wrongful discharge laws by U.S. state courts that allow workers to sue employers for unjust dismissal as an exogenous increase in employee firing costs. I find that firms reduce debt ratios following the adoption of these laws, and this result is strongest for subsamples of firms that experience larger increases in expected firing costs. Following the passage of these laws, firms also increase cash holdings, firms save more cash out of cash flows, and investors place a higher value on each additional dollar of cash holdings. Overall, my results indicate that employee firing costs can have an important impact on corporate financial policy decisions.

隨著2007年美國次貸危機爆發而引起的金融海嘯，對全球經濟造成了巨大的負面衝擊，至今仍還未完全恢復。在後金融海嘯時代下，企業從外部資本市場可獲得的融資往往較為困難，資本市場的流動性短缺成為常態，因此導致企業本身的資本累積更為重要。在此情況中，許多企業傾向於持有大量的現金及約當現金。 本研究旨在探討1992年至2012年間的美國企業之現金影響因子，並檢視各個現金持有影響因子對現金比率之影響方向，並把樣本分別以企業規模大小、有無財務限制和年度進行實證分析。 本研究實證指出在全體樣本的迴歸結果，可以發現影響美國企業現金持有比率的影響因子主要有：企業規模、負債比率、總資產報酬率、淨營運資金比率、研究發展費用佔淨銷售額比率、併購佔總資產比率、資本支出比率、市值對淨值比率與股利發放情形，只有現金流量比率不具顯著性。實證結果支持動機理論、融資順位理論和資訊不對稱理論，並符合預期之變動方向。

In the first essay, "The Source of Cash and Its Marginal Value," we study the relation between the source of firms' cash holdings and the value of the cash to shareholders. The marginal value of a dollar of cash holdings depends on the source of the dollar: $1.00 of cash has a value of $1.27 when it is from operations, $0.80 when from financing, and $0.46 when from investing. Within the same source, the marginal value of an added dollar of cash holdings is significantly higher than the absolute value of a subtracted dollar. Shareholders of financially constrained or distressed firms value incremental cash holdings from almost any source more highly than do shareholders of unconstrained or stronger firms, but differences in value remain across the sources of cash within each subsample. Agency costs and information asymmetry are two frictions that appear to have the largest impact upon the value of cash. In the second essay, "Explanations for Diverging Values of Cash," we further explain the differing values of cash found in the first essay. Intertemporal relationships among the sources and uses of cash provide a rational basis for shareholders to assign different values of cash based on the source. Sources of cash provide information about likely uses of cash up to two to three years in the future, and many of the intertemporal relations are statistically and economically significant. Likewise, prior uses of cash relate significantly to later uses of cash. Past sources of cash inform investors about likely future sources, even up to five years into the future. The fact that different kinds of cash flows have predictive power for future cash flows helps explain the wide range of the values of cash associated with different sources.

abstract: This paper examines how equity analysts' roles as information intermediaries and monitors affect corporate liquidity policy and its associated value of cash, providing new evidence that analysts have a direct impact on corporate liquidity policy. Greater analyst coverage (1) reduces information asymmetry between a firm and outside shareholders and (2) enhances the monitoring process. Consistent with these arguments, analyst coverage increases the value of cash, thereby allowing firms to hold more cash. The cash-to-assets ratio increases by 5.2 percentage points when moving from the bottom analyst-coverage decile to the top decile. The marginal value of $1 of corporate cash holdings is $0.93 for the bottom analyst-coverage decile and $1.83 for the top decile. The positive effects remain robust after a battery of endogeneity checks. I also perform tests employing a unique dataset that consists of public and private firms, as well as a dataset that consists of public firms that have gone private. A public firm with analyst coverage can hold approximately 8% more cash than its private counterpart. These findings constitute new evidence on the real effect of analyst coverage. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Business Administration 2012

I examine the effect of ownership structure on firms' propensities to save the proceeds of a share issuance as cash. Specifically, I focus on changes in cash savings at the time of a seasoned equity offering (SEO), a moment at which the firm experiences a large inflow of cash, to determine whether ownership structures such as managerial blockholdings or the presence of institutional investors materially affect firms' decisions regarding their level of cash savings. I find that firms with managerial blockholders are more inclined to save share issuance proceeds as cash, relative to firms with outside blockholders or no blockholders present. This finding could be interpreted as consistent with either managerial entrenchment or incentive alignment, so I distinguish between these competing forces by examining SEO announcement returns. The market's reaction to SEO announcements when managerial blockholders are present is significantly worse on average when the firm has excess cash, lending support to the entrenchment explanation. I also find that firms with greater total institutional ownership save more cash from equity issuance, which is consistent with the theory that greater firm monitoring allows optimal corporate cash holdings to increase because shareholders are less concerned about potential misuses of cash.

Este estudo teve como objetivo identificar alguns fatores que determinam a manutenção de determinados níveis de caixa nas organizações. Além disso, buscou-se identificar se existe diferença nas políticas de retenção de caixa entre os grupos de empresas restritas e não restritas financeiramente. Por fim, procurou-se verificar se houve mudanças nessa política em períodos considerados de maior volatilidade dos negócios. Para isso, forma analisadas as empresas não financeiras, cujos dados estavam disponíveis no banco de dados Economática durante o período entre 1998 e 2011. Os resultados indicam que há relação entre a incerteza na geração de caixa e a retenção de caixa, principalmente para empresas classificadas como restritas financeiramente. O risco país também apresentou forte relação com o nível de caixa das empresas. Confirmou-se a relação esperada entre Tamanho e Nível de Caixa suportada pela Pecking Order Theory; a relação entre Oportunidades de Investimento e Nível de Caixa esperada tanto pela Static Tradeoff Theory, quanto pela Pecking Order Theory; a relação entre Endividamento e Nível de Caixa explicada pela Static Tradeoff Theory; e a relação entre Investimento Operacional em Giro e o Nível de Caixa esperado pela Free Cash Flow Theory. Dentre as dummies utilizadas para capturar os eventos de maior volatilidade, apenas a relativa a crise cambial durante o processo eleitoral do presidente Lula apresentou resultados significativos. / This study aim to identify factors that explain why firms retain cash. In addition, we observe the impact of firms financial constraints in the cash holdings policy. At last, we try to investigate if more volatile periods affect the firms cash holdings. In order to do that, we analize non-financial firms with data from Economatica during the period between 1998 and 2011. The results show us that there is a relation between the uncertainty of cash flow generation and the cash holdings, specialy for firms with financial constraints. The country risk has relation with the cash holdings too. We found evidence to support the relation expect between Size and Cash supported by Pecking Order Theory; the relation between Investment Oportunities and Cash by the Static Tradeoff Theory and Pecking Order Theory; the relation between Leverage and Cash by the Static Tradeoff Theory; and the relation between Net Working Capital and Cash by the Free Cash Flow Theory. Just the dummy that try to captures the Exchange rate crises on the electoral period of presidente Lula has significant impact.

Este estudo teve como objetivo identificar alguns fatores que determinam a manutenção de determinados níveis de caixa nas organizações. Além disso, buscou-se identificar se existe diferença nas políticas de retenção de caixa entre os grupos de empresas restritas e não restritas financeiramente. Por fim, procurou-se verificar se houve mudanças nessa política em períodos considerados de maior volatilidade dos negócios. Para isso, forma analisadas as empresas não financeiras, cujos dados estavam disponíveis no banco de dados Economática durante o período entre 1998 e 2011. Os resultados indicam que há relação entre a incerteza na geração de caixa e a retenção de caixa, principalmente para empresas classificadas como restritas financeiramente. O risco país também apresentou forte relação com o nível de caixa das empresas. Confirmou-se a relação esperada entre Tamanho e Nível de Caixa suportada pela Pecking Order Theory; a relação entre Oportunidades de Investimento e Nível de Caixa esperada tanto pela Static Tradeoff Theory, quanto pela Pecking Order Theory; a relação entre Endividamento e Nível de Caixa explicada pela Static Tradeoff Theory; e a relação entre Investimento Operacional em Giro e o Nível de Caixa esperado pela Free Cash Flow Theory. Dentre as dummies utilizadas para capturar os eventos de maior volatilidade, apenas a relativa a crise cambial durante o processo eleitoral do presidente Lula apresentou resultados significativos. / This study aim to identify factors that explain why firms retain cash. In addition, we observe the impact of firms financial constraints in the cash holdings policy. At last, we try to investigate if more volatile periods affect the firms cash holdings. In order to do that, we analize non-financial firms with data from Economatica during the period between 1998 and 2011. The results show us that there is a relation between the uncertainty of cash flow generation and the cash holdings, specialy for firms with financial constraints. The country risk has relation with the cash holdings too. We found evidence to support the relation expect between Size and Cash supported by Pecking Order Theory; the relation between Investment Oportunities and Cash by the Static Tradeoff Theory and Pecking Order Theory; the relation between Leverage and Cash by the Static Tradeoff Theory; and the relation between Net Working Capital and Cash by the Free Cash Flow Theory. Just the dummy that try to captures the Exchange rate crises on the electoral period of presidente Lula has significant impact.

Este estudo teve como objetivo identificar alguns fatores que determinam a manutenção de determinados níveis de caixa nas organizações. Além disso, buscou-se identificar se existe diferença nas políticas de retenção de caixa entre os grupos de empresas restritas e não restritas financeiramente. Por fim, procurou-se verificar se houve mudanças nessa política em períodos considerados de maior volatilidade dos negócios. Para isso, forma analisadas as empresas não financeiras, cujos dados estavam disponíveis no banco de dados Economática durante o período entre 1998 e 2011. Os resultados indicam que há relação entre a incerteza na geração de caixa e a retenção de caixa, principalmente para empresas classificadas como restritas financeiramente. O risco país também apresentou forte relação com o nível de caixa das empresas. Confirmou-se a relação esperada entre Tamanho e Nível de Caixa suportada pela Pecking Order Theory; a relação entre Oportunidades de Investimento e Nível de Caixa esperada tanto pela Static Tradeoff Theory, quanto pela Pecking Order Theory; a relação entre Endividamento e Nível de Caixa explicada pela Static Tradeoff Theory; e a relação entre Investimento Operacional em Giro e o Nível de Caixa esperado pela Free Cash Flow Theory. Dentre as dummies utilizadas para capturar os eventos de maior volatilidade, apenas a relativa a crise cambial durante o processo eleitoral do presidente Lula apresentou resultados significativos. / This study aim to identify factors that explain why firms retain cash. In addition, we observe the impact of firms financial constraints in the cash holdings policy. At last, we try to investigate if more volatile periods affect the firms cash holdings. In order to do that, we analize non-financial firms with data from Economatica during the period between 1998 and 2011. The results show us that there is a relation between the uncertainty of cash flow generation and the cash holdings, specialy for firms with financial constraints. The country risk has relation with the cash holdings too. We found evidence to support the relation expect between Size and Cash supported by Pecking Order Theory; the relation between Investment Oportunities and Cash by the Static Tradeoff Theory and Pecking Order Theory; the relation between Leverage and Cash by the Static Tradeoff Theory; and the relation between Net Working Capital and Cash by the Free Cash Flow Theory. Just the dummy that try to captures the Exchange rate crises on the electoral period of presidente Lula has significant impact.

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