The theoretical relationship between investment and uncertainty is ambiguous. This paper briefly surveys the insights that theory has to offer and then runs a series of simple tests aimed at evaluating the empirical significance of various theoretical effects. The authors' results from a panel of U.S. manufacturing firms indicate a negative effect of uncertainty on investment consistent with theories of irreversible investment. They find no evidence for a positive effect via the channel of the convexity of the marginal product of capital and find no evidence for the presence of a CAPM-based effect of risk.
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Leahy et al. (1995) studied this question.