Is the Investment–Uncertainty Relationship Nonlinear? An Empirical Analysis for the Netherlands

We examine the investment–uncertainty relationship for a panel of Dutch non‐financial firms. The system generalized method of moments (GMM) estimates suggest that the effect of uncertainty on investment is nonlinear: for low levels of uncertainty an increase in uncertainty has a positive effect on investment, while for high levels of uncertainty an increase in uncertainty lowers investment. This result is in line with a number of theoretical studies, but has never been documented empirically.