In this paper we examine whether state and foreign ownership affect the shape of the value-net working capital (NWC) curve. Using a multinational sample of privatized firms from 54 countries, we provide documentation indicating that the value-NWC curve is U-shaped. We show that shareholders value less (more) increasing NWC in government-controlled (foreign-controlled) firms with a low level of NWC when compared to their non-government-controlled (non-foreign-controlled) peers. These findings are robust to the use of alternative ownership and NWC proxies and when we address endogeneity issues. Furthermore, we find that the negative (positive) relation between state (foreign) ownership and the value of NWC is stronger in firms that are less financially constrained (from countries with strong governance institutions), especially at a low level of NWC. Collectively, our results highlight the importance of ownership type for the value of investment in NWC.

In this paper, we examine whether managers use information included in stock prices when making labor investment decisions. Specifically, we examine whether stock price informativeness affects labor investment efficiency. We find that a higher probability of informed trading (PIN) is associated with lower deviations of labor investment from the level justified by economic fundamentals, i.e., higher labor investment efficiency. This finding is robust to using alternative proxies for stock price informativeness and labor investment efficiency, when we control for earnings quality and mispricing, and when we address endogeneity issues. Furthermore, we report evidence suggesting that the positive impact of stock price on labor investment efficiency is more (less) pronounced in firms from highly unionized industries and firms facing higher financial constraints (firms from industries that rely more on skilled labor).