Exporting Uncertainty: The Impact of Brexit on Corporate America

Murillo Campello, Gustavo Cortes, Fabricio d'Almeida and Gaurav Kankanhalli

No 26714, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: We show that the 2016 Brexit Referendum had multi-faceted consequences for corporate America, shaping employment, investment, divestitures, R&D, and savings. The unexpected vote outcome led US firms to cut jobs and investment within US borders. Using establishment-level data, we document that these effects were modulated by the reversibility of capital and labor. American-based job destruction was particularly pronounced in industries with less skilled and more unionized workers. UK-exposed firms with less redeployable capital and high input-offshoring dependence cut investment the most. Data on the near-universe of US establishments also point to measurable, negative effects on establishment turnover (openings and closings). Our results demonstrate how foreign-born political uncertainty is transmitted across international borders, shaping domestic capital formation and labor allocation.

JEL-codes: F23 G15 G31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020-01
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Published as Campello, Murillo & Cortes, Gustavo S. & d’Almeida, Fabrício & Kankanhalli, Gaurav, 2022. "Exporting Uncertainty: The Impact of Brexit on Corporate America," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 57(8), pages 3178-3222, December.

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