It certainly does, according to a new University of Pittsburgh study.

The study, Sarbanes-Oxley and Corporate Risk-Taking , found that many US companies starting hoarding cash instead of developing new products and services. In a comparison of 4239 US corporations with 989 British corporations, the researchers found that US firms had reduced their R&D and capital expenditures, and increased their cash holdings in a big way since SOX. Risk measures for US firms also decreased.

With IPOs, there was a greater likelihood of them being conducted in Britain post-SOX. Significantly, this was especially high for companies in high R&D industries. Just as as importantly, the percentage of US IPOs accounted for by firms in low R&D industries increased substantially post-SOX, from 39 per cent to 52 per cent. With US IPOs in high R&D industries, it went the other way, from 39 per cent to 29 per cent.

The researchers say the findings show that Sarbanes-Oxley has had a "chilling effect on the risk-taking behavior of US corporations".

Research for the paper was funded by the American Enterprise Institute , a think tank with close links to the Bush administration. Lynne Cheney, the wife of Vice President Dick Cheney, is a senior fellow of the AEI.