Oil price uncertainty and corporate inefficient investment: Evidence from China

Motivated by the substantial influence of oil price uncertainty (OPU) on corporate investment and the importance of corporate investment efficiency, this study focuses on the impact of OPU on corporate inefficient investment. Using a sample of Chinese listed firms from 2007 to 2019, we find that OPU negatively affects inefficient investment. This negative effect is consistent in the over -investment and under -investment sub -sample. Our findings are consistent with the real options theory and the strategic growth option theory. We also find that a shortening debt maturity structure is one of the underlying mechanisms through which OPU reduces inefficient investment. In addition, heterogeneity analysis indicates that the negative effects of OPU on inefficient investment are more pronounced in state-owned firms, firms with higher financing constraints, and firms with lower ownership concentration. Furthermore, we find that OPU emanating from positive oil price changes has a stronger negative impact on inefficient investment. This study comprehensively investigates the relationship between OPU and corporate inefficient investment from perspectives of over -investment and under -investment, and it enriches macro perspective evidence for the determinants of corporate inefficient investment.