本研究探討總體經濟政策不確定性(economic policy uncertainty)與成本結構的關聯。現有的研究對於需求不確定性與營業槓桿之間的關聯存在不一致的研究結果。與過去文獻相符，本研究發現總體經濟政策不確定性與營業槓桿之間的關聯不顯著為正亦不顯著為負。然而，藉由進一步研究，我發現管理者能力有助於強化總體經濟政策不確定性與營業槓桿之間的關係。當面臨較高的總體經濟政策不確定性時，能力高的管理者著重於擁擠成本(congestion cost)遠勝投資不可逆性(investment irreversibility)，會事先調整產能以因應未來潛在異常高額需求，因而擴大營業槓桿程度。額外測試表明，對於高成長機會的公司與高客戶集中度的公司，管理者能力更有助於提升總體經濟政策不確定性與營業槓桿之間的正相關，該結果進一步支持假說二，也就是高能力管理者在面對高總體經濟政策不確定性時，會特別重視擁擠成本。

This study investigates the association between economic policy uncertainty (EPU) and cost rigidity (i.e. the ratio of fixed-to-variable costs). Extant research finds mixed evidence on the relationship between demand uncertainty and operating leverage. In line with previous research, I discover that the relationship between EPU and cost rigidity is neither positive nor negative. However, I investigate further and demonstrate that managerial ability amplifies the positive effect of EPU on cost rigidity. When confronted with high EPU periods, high-ability managers prioritize congestion risk over investment irreversibility, opting for high capacity in advance for unusually high demand realizations, resulting in a high degree of operating leverage. Additional analysis shows that managerial ability strengthens the relationship between EPU and operating leverage for firms with high growth opportunities and higher customer concentration, supporting hypothesis 2 that high-ability managers pay special attention to congestion costs when firms face higher congestion risk during high EPU periods.

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