Risk-taking reflects companies’ risk appetite in investment and financial decision-making, playing a crucial role in firm performance and survival within competitive environments. However, economic policy uncertainty may induce companies to adopt more conservative strategies, thereby impeding their growth. This study analyzes the impact of economic policy uncertainty on the level of risk-taking by Russian manufacturing companies. The study was conducted using data from 1703 Russian companies for the period 2014–2024. To estimate the effect, panel data regression analysis with fixed effects is employed. The results confirm that economic policy uncertainty leads to a decrease in risk-taking and, consequently, underinvestment by companies. Moreover, the effect is stronger for companies with state ownership and for those with male CEOs. Furthermore, the analysis reveals no substantial difference in the effect of economic policy uncertainty on risk-taking behavior between large firms and small and medium enterprises. This study is the first to examine the impact of economic policy uncertainty on risk-taking by Russian companies, accounting for differences in company size, ownership type, and CEO gender.
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