Better access to debt markets mitigates the effects of uncertainty on corporate policies. We establish this result using the staggered introduction of anti-recharacterization laws in US states. These laws enhanced firms’ ability to borrow by strengthening creditors’ rights to repossess collateral pledged in special purpose vehicles. After the passage of the laws, firms that face more uncertainty hoard less cash and increase payouts, leverage, and investment in intangible assets. Our findings suggest that better access to debt markets shields firms from fluctuations in uncertainty and decreases firms’ precautionary behavior, contributing to the deployment of cash and other internal resources to investment in intangible capital.

更好地进入债务市场可以减轻不确定性对公司政策的影响。我们使用美国各州交错引入的反重新定性法律来确定这一结果。这些法律通过加强债权人收回特殊目的工具抵押品的权利，提高了公司的借款能力。法律通过后，面临更多不确定性的公司会减少囤积现金，并增加支出、杠杆和无形资产投资。我们的研究结果表明，更好地进入债务市场可以保护公司免受不确定性波动的影响，并减少公司的预防行为，有助于将现金和其他内部资源用于无形资本投资。