Does stock market listing impact investment in Japan?

Joseph French, Ryosuke Fujitani and Yukihiro Yasuda

Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, 2021, vol. 59, issue C

Abstract: We provide the first large sample comparison of investment by Japanese listed and unlisted public firms. We show that listed firms invest more and have greater sensitivity to investment opportunities than comparable unlisted companies. Our findings suggest that the role of listing in alleviating financial constraints and agency costs is more important than potential underinvestment due to myopic behavior. However, the positive relationship between listing and investment is primarily driven by standalone firms. Further analysis confirms that as the number of subsidiaries in a business group increases the positive impact of listing on investment declines. Additionally, we find that the positive impact of listing on investment is greater for financially constrained firms. We also document a positive association between stock liquidity and investment for listed firms. Taken together, our results suggest that stock markets play an important role in easing financial constraints and preventing managerial shirking both of which increase investment. Finally, we show that higher levels of ownership by financial institutions, board members, and foreign investors increases corporate investment.

Keywords: Listing status; Business groups; Corporate investment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F3 G20 G31 G39 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Related works:
Chapter: Does Stock Market Listing Impact Investment in Japan? (2019)
Working Paper: Does Stock Market Listing Impact Investment in Japan? (2019)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jjieco:v:59:y:2021:i:c:s0889158320300307

DOI: 10.1016/j.jjie.2020.101093

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