Human capital quality and cash holdings

Abstract

In this paper, we examine whether human capital quality affects firms’ cash holdings. Using a sample of U.S. firms from 1980 to 2022, we find that a one standard deviation increase in human capital quality is associated with an increase of 0.053 in the cash-to-total assets ratio. We also explore two channels—skilled labour risk and agency costs—through which human capital quality affects cash holdings. Further, using the hiring of a chief diversity officer as a proxy for a diverse and inclusive workforce, we find that firms that hire chief diversity officers have higher cash holdings.