Investment Equations and Financial Restrictions at Firm Level: The Case of Uruguay

Abstract

Three alternative specifications of an investment equation have been tested using panel data of Uruguayan firms: a traditional accelerator model of investment, an error-correction version of the accelerator model and an Euler equation for the capital stock. These models of investment were used to test for the existence of financial constraints in the investment decision process. Our estimates confirm the existence of financial restrictions on investment decisions of Uruguayan firms in the period under consideration (1997-2000). We explored the effect on firms’ ability to finance investment of two attributes: size and foreign ownership. Regarding size, our results suggest that small firms face greater constraints in financing their desired levels of investment. We also explored whether foreign owned firms suffered less from financial restrictions than national firms. Our results leave the issue unresolved. Lastly, our estimates suggest a general increase in the severity of financial restrictions following the 1999-2000 crisis. In particular, smaller firms were most affected.