Severity of financing constraints and firms' investments

According to standard investment theory, the current investments of more financially constrained firms should be smaller than those of less constrained firms with similar investment opportunities. In this paper, I develop a dynamic investment model in which the project value and the severity of financing constraints can vary over time. My results contradict standard theory. To preempt further financing risk in the future, severely constrained firms may engage in more active investment behavior even if they face relatively high additional financing costs at the time. My numerical example demonstrates that a relatively low probability of future risk is sufficient to cause such preemptive behavior.