Is there reason to be concerned about companies’ cash holdings?
In OECD countries as a whole, non-financial corporations’ cash holding s have increased significantly since 2002, from 14% of GDP to 20% of GDP currently. Should we be concerned about this increase in companies’ cash holdings? Admittedly, they increase companies’ financial solidity, but: They are due to an increase in corporate earnings that is not used to invest, which reduces growth in the short as in the long term; Since the return on cash is very low, if companies have very large cash holdings this may eventually drive them to increase the number of external growth transactions, leading to an abnormal increase in the number and cost of these transactions. Altogether, it would be better: If the cash held by companies financed investments in new capital; Or, failing this, if wages were higher and corporate earnings lower.