Research on the impact mechanism of monetary policy shocks and the synergy of human capital structure on corporate investment

This study investigates how monetary policy uncertainty shapes corporate investment efficiency based on an unbalanced panel of 5,090 Chinese A-share listed firms over the period 2011–2024. The findings indicate that heightened monetary policy uncertainty leads to a significant deterioration in investment efficiency. This relationship remains stable after adopting alternative measures, introducing lagged terms, removing observations from the COVID-19 period, and applying instrumental-variable estimation. Mechanism analysis shows that tighter financing constraints and lower R&D expenditure constitute two important channels underlying this effect. The negative influence is particularly evident among capital-intensive and technology-intensive firms, state-owned enterprises, and firms characterized by CEO duality. Moreover, an upgraded human capital structure enhances firms’ capacity to absorb policy-related shocks and weakens the adverse effect of monetary policy uncertainty. These findings advance the understanding of firm-level responses to macroeconomic policy uncertainty and offer practical insights into policy communication, innovation financing, human capital allocation, and corporate investment management.