| Category | Variable Name | Symbol | Variable Description |
| Interpreted variables | Cash holding Rate | CASH | Cash holdings/total assets |
| Corporation Value | V | {Stock market price (CSRC) + debt book value}/total assets | |
| Explanatory variables | Economic Policy Uncertainty | EPU | Drawing on China’s economic policy uncertainty index developed by Baker et al. [29] |
| Adjustment variables | Economic Cycle | Ecocy | GDP quarterly growth rate |
| Control variables | Company Size | SIZE | The natural logarithm of the company’s total assets |
| Main Business Income level | MBI | The natural logarithm of the main business income of the current period | |
| Assets and Liabilities | LEV | Total liabilities for the current period/total assets of the period | |
| Net Working Capital ratio | NWC | (Working capital − one monetary fund − short-term investment)/total assets at the end of the period | |
| Short-term Debt ratio | SD | Current short-term borrowings/current assets | |
| Industry | Industry | Industry dummy variable, CSRC (2012) standard | |
| Operating Cash Flow ratio | CFO | Net cash flow from operations/(total assets − cash holdings) | |
| Non-cash Asset ratio | NA | (total assets − cash holdings)/total assets | |
| Interest Expense ratio | I | Financial expenses interest expenses (including capitalized interest)/total assets | |
| Cash Dividend payout ratio | D | Cash dividends/total assets issued in the current period | |
| Capital Expenditure ratio | CAPEX | Capital Expenditure/(Total Assets − Cash Holdings) Capital Expenditure = Cash paid for operating leases + Cash for purchase and construction of fixed assets, intangible assets and other long-term assets − Disposal of fixed assets, intangible assets and other long-term assets |