We examine the impact of firm-level political risk on the cash flow sensitivity of cash. Using a large sample of U.S. firms from 2003 to 2018, we find that the cash flow sensitivity of cash decreases in political uncertainty and the impact of political risk is asymmetric to cash flow types (positive versus negative). Intensified political uncertainty induces positive/negative cash flow firms to reduce savings out of cash flows to finance investment opportunities/terminate unprofitable projects to retrieve cash. The results are robust to various model specifications, alternative variable definitions, and the control for non-political risks. In addition, we show that a firm’s financial status moderates the relation between the two, with financially constrained positive/negative cash flow firms saving more out of cash flows/decreasing existing savings as firm-level political risk increases.

我们研究了公司层面的政治风险对现金现金流敏感度的影响。通过使用 2003 年至 2018 年的大量美国企业样本，我们发现现金的现金流敏感度随着政治不确定性而降低，并且政治风险的影响对于现金流类型（正与负）不对称。政治不确定性加剧会导致正/负现金流公司减少现金流储蓄，为投资机会提供资金/终止无利可图的项目以收回现金。结果对于各种模型规范、替代变量定义以及非政治风险的控制都是稳健的。此外，我们还发现，公司的财务状况调节了两者之间的关系，随着公司层面政治风险的增加，财务上受限的正/负现金流公司会从现金流中储蓄更多/减少现有储蓄。