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Slow Debt, Deep Recessions

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  • Joachim Jungherr
  • Immo Schott

Abstract

Business credit lags GDP growth by about one year. This contributes to high leverage during recessions and slow deleveraging. We show that a model in which firms use risky long-term debt replicates this slow adjustment of firm debt. In the model, slow-moving debt has important effects for real activity. High levels of firm debt issued during expansions are only gradually reduced during recessions. This generates an adverse feedback loop between high default rates and low investment and thereby amplifies the downturn. Sluggish deleveraging slows down the recovery.

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  • Joachim Jungherr & Immo Schott, 2022. "Slow Debt, Deep Recessions," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 14(1), pages 224-259, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aejmac:v:14:y:2022:i:1:p:224-59
    DOI: 10.1257/mac.20190306
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    Cited by:

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    2. Keiichiro KOBAYASHI & Daichi SHIRAI, 2023. "Debt-Ridden Borrowers and Persistent Stagnation," CIGS Working Paper Series 23-001E, The Canon Institute for Global Studies.
    3. Aubhik Khan & Soyoung Lee, 2023. "Persistent Debt and Business Cycles in an Economy with Production Heterogeneity," Staff Working Papers 23-17, Bank of Canada.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • E23 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Production
    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles
    • E44 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Financial Markets and the Macroeconomy
    • G31 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Capital Budgeting; Fixed Investment and Inventory Studies
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill

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