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Do Financial Factors Affect The Capital-Labour Ratio: Evidence From UK Firm-Level Data

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  • Marina-Eliza Spaliara
Abstract
This paper analyses how firms’ capital-labour ratio is affected by cash flow, leverage, and collateral, and how this effect differs at firms more and less likely to face financing constraints using a rich UK firm-level data set. It is common in the literature to examine the impact of financial constraints on hiring and firing decisions separately from their impact on decisions related to investment in physical capital. We argue that as long as firms use both inputs in production and there is some substitutability between them, the two decisions need to be jointly analysed. When we differentiate across firms that are more or less financially constrained, we find that the former group exhibits higher sensitivities of the capital-labour ratio to firm-specific characteristics compared to the latter.

Suggested Citation

  • Marina-Eliza Spaliara, 2009. "Do Financial Factors Affect The Capital-Labour Ratio: Evidence From UK Firm-Level Data," Discussion Papers 09/04, University of Nottingham, Centre for Finance, Credit and Macroeconomics (CFCM).
    • Handle: RePEc:not:notcfc:09/04
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    Cited by:

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    2. Tsoukas, Serafeim, 2011. "Firm survival and financial development: Evidence from a panel of emerging Asian economies," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(7), pages 1736-1752, July.
    3. Fátima Herranz González & Carmen Martínez-Carrascal, 2017. "The impact of firms’ financial position on fixed investment and employment. An analysis for Spain," Working Papers 1714, Banco de España.
    4. M.Ajide, Folorunsho, 2022. "Firm-specific, and institutional determinants of corporate investments in Nigeria," Working Papers 21, Department of Economics, University of Ilorin.
    5. Holger Görg & Marina-Eliza Spaliara, 2014. "Financial Health, Exports and Firm Survival: Evidence from UK and French Firms," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 81(323), pages 419-444, July.
    6. Carol Newman & Conor O’Toole & Christina Kinghan, 2018. "Capital allocation, credit access, and firm growth in Vietnam," WIDER Working Paper Series 67, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    7. Moho Shiraishi & Go Yano, 2022. "The Financial Crisis in 2008, the Stimulus Package, and Distortion of Financial Intermediation in China: A Survival Analysis Approach," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 64(2), pages 280-323, June.
    8. Spaliara, Marina-Eliza, 2011. "Financial frictions and the K/L ratio in UK manufacturing," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 112(1), pages 23-25, July.
    9. Zhang, Dongyang, 2020. "How do firms overcome financial constraint anxiety to survive in the market? Evidence from large manufacturing data," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    10. Mizen, Paul & Tsoukas, Serafeim, 2012. "The response of the external finance premium in Asian corporate bond markets to financial characteristics, financial constraints and two financial crises," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(11), pages 3048-3059.
    11. Görg, Holger & Spaliara, Marina-Eliza, 2014. "Exporters in the Financial Crisis," National Institute Economic Review, National Institute of Economic and Social Research, vol. 228, pages 49-57, May.
    12. José Manuel Mansilla-Fernández & Juliette Milgram-Baleix, 2023. "Working capital management, financial constraints and exports: evidence from European and US manufacturers," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 64(4), pages 1769-1810, April.
    13. Jonathan Hambur & Dan Andrews, 2023. "Doing Less, with Less: Capital Misallocation, Investment and the Productivity Slowdown in Australia," RBA Research Discussion Papers rdp2023-03, Reserve Bank of Australia.
    14. Margaritis, Dimitris & Psillaki, Maria, 2010. "Capital structure, equity ownership and firm performance," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 621-632, March.
    15. Davide Melcangi, 2024. "Firms' Precautionary Savings and Employment during a Credit Crisis," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 16(1), pages 356-386, January.
    16. Cornille, David & Rycx, François & Tojerow, Ilan, 2019. "Heterogeneous effects of credit constraints on SMEs’ employment: Evidence from the European sovereign debt crisis," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 1-13.
    17. Christina Kinghan & Carol Newman & Conor M. O'Toole, 2018. "Capital allocation, credit access, and firm growth in Vietnam," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2018-67, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    18. Zhang, Qiong & Shi, Yupeng & He, Angda & Wen, Xueting, 2017. "Property rights security and firm survival: Micro-data evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 296-310.
    19. Gerlach, Petra & O'Connell, Brian & O'Toole, Conor, 2013. "SME Credit Constraints and Macroeconomic Effects," Papers WP467, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
    20. Serafeim Tsoukas & Marina-Eliza Spaliara, 2014. "Market Implied Ratings and Financing Constraints: Evidence from US Firms," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(1-2), pages 242-269, January.
    21. Elena Crivellaro & Aikaterini Karadimitropoulou, 2019. "The role of financial constraints on labour share developments: macro- and micro-level evidence," Working Papers 257, Bank of Greece.
    22. Petra Gerlach-Kristen & Brian O'Connell & Conor O'Toole, 2015. "Do Credit Constraints Affect SME Investment and Employment?," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 46(1), pages 51-86.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Firm-specific characteristics; Capital-labour ratio; Financial constraints.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E22 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Investment; Capital; Intangible Capital; Capacity
    • D92 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Intertemporal Firm Choice, Investment, Capacity, and Financing
    • E44 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Financial Markets and the Macroeconomy

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