Capital strike

Capital strike is the practice of businesses withholding any form of new investment in an economy, in order to attain some form of favorable policy.^[1] Capital strikes may arise from the determination that return on investment may be low or nonexistent or from the belief that by withholding investment certain political or economic changes may be achieved—or from a combination of the two. Capital strikes can be economy-wide, or take place in a specific industry.^[2]

Capital strikes may sometimes result when governments pursue policies that investors consider "unfriendly" or "inflexible", such as rent control or nationalization. The term can refer to a capital strike by a single investor^[3] or a large group. Capital strikes are commonly invoked as the business-owner/shareholder equivalent of a labor strike, and are often tied to the concept of capital flight.^[4] Capital strike was originally a derogatory term,^[5] but has been used more neutrally in modern politics.^[6][7]