Product market liberalization and corporate cash holdings: Evidence from China

Exploiting China's sequential product market liberalization reform as a quasi-natural experiment, we find that market liberalization leads to a reduction in corporate cash holdings. This reduction is attributable to increased competition induced by market liberalization. The disciplinary effect of market liberalization, which curbs firms' opportunistic cash holdings, is more pronounced among firms located in regions with greater local government intervention and those with weaker corporate governance before market liberalization. Overall, we provide novel evidence of how product market liberalization in an emerging economy impacts firms' cash holding strategies.