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Discussion Paper Details

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Title: The (Self-) Funding of Intangibles

Author(s): Robin D�ttling, Tomislav Ladika and Enrico C Perotti

Publication Date: January 2018

Keyword(s): cash holdings, corporate leverage, deferred equity, equity grants, Human Capital, intangible assets, share vesting and Technological change

Programme Area(s): Financial Economics

Abstract: We model how technological change leads to a shift in corporate investment towards intangible capital, and test its implications for corporate financial policy. While tangible assets can be purchased and funded externally, most intangible capital is created by skilled workers investing their human capital, so it requires lower upfront outlays. Indeed, U.S. high-intangibles firms have larger free cash flows and lower total investment spending, and do not appear more financially constrained. We model and test how these firms optimally retain cash for both a precautionary as well as a retention motive. The optimal reward for risk-averse human capital involves deferred compensation and a commitment to retain cash. High-intangibles firms also should favor a payout policy of repurchases over dividends to avoid penalizing unvested claims. Our empirical evidence supports these predictions.

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Bibliographic Reference

D�ttling, R, Ladika, T and Perotti, E. 2018. 'The (Self-) Funding of Intangibles'. London, Centre for Economic Policy Research. https://cepr.org/active/publications/discussion_papers/dp.php?dpno=12618