How does economic policy uncertainty affect cross-border M&A: Evidence from Chinese firms

Abstract

Based on the data of Chinese cross-border mergers and acquisitions in 29 countries from 2008 to 2017, we adopt the index of world economic policy uncertainty constructed by Baker et al. (2016) to empirically test the impact of economic policy uncertainty triggered by financial crisis on the scale and performance of M&A behavior. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) Economic policy uncertainty in host country can significantly reduce the scale of cross-border M&A of Chinese enterprises. (2) The negative impact of economic policy uncertainty is more evident in non-state-owned enterprises. (3) Economic policy uncertainty in the host country has a U-shaped influence on short-term M&A performance of enterprises; (4) Economic policy uncertainty in host country has a negative impact on mid-term M&A performance of enterprises. Our results can provide reference for enterprise investment and home country policy.