财务灵活性能缓解投资扭曲吗——来自双重差分匹配估计量的经验证据

Does financial flexibility reduce firms＇ investment distortions --Evidence from difference-in-differences matching estimator

本文采用匹配方法度量我国上市公司的财务灵活性，避免了传统度量方式的诸多缺陷，并以2008年金融危机为契机，运用双重差分法检验财务灵活性对公司投资行为的因果效应。研究发现，处理组公司在金融危机期间的投资水平变化高出对照组公司2．501％，这一差异兼具统计显著性和经济显著性。此外，更高的投资水平变化是通过更多的债务融资实现的。一系列安慰剂检验和稳健性检验表明本文的结论未受其他因素的混淆，具有稳健性。进一步研究发现，对照组公司在金融危机期间普遍出现了严重的投资不足问题，且发生业绩下滑，而处理组公司在金融危机期间的投资水平和业绩都维持稳定。这表明财务灵活性通过债务融资渠道缓解了企业的投资扭曲。

This paper uses matching method to gauge firms＇ financial flexibility, avoiding many defects of traditional measurement. Then uses difference-in-differences estimator to gauge the causal effect of financial flexibility on firms＇ investment during the 2008 financial crisis. We find treated firms exhibited a change in investmen of 2. 501% more than control firms, and that this change in investment is statistically and economically significant. Moreover, treated firms＇ higher change in investment was achieved through higher debt financing. A number of placebo and robustness tests suggest that our inferences are not confounded with other factors and are robust. Further research indicates that under-investment became widespread during the crisis among control firms, with which declining operating performance was also accompanied, while treated firms investment level and operating performance both remained stable during the crisis. These results suggest that financial flexibility helped firms mitigate investment distortions through debt financing.