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Firm investment and financial conditions in the euro area: evidence from firm-level data

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  • Hiona Balfoussia
  • Heather D. Gibson

Abstract

We explore whether the sensitivity of firm-level investment to cash flow, typically associated with an external financing premium, is time-varying and in particular whether it varies with overall financial conditions. We find that financial conditions have indeed played a significant role in corporate investment decisions over recent years, rendering financing constraints even more binding. This finding appears to be robust to a number of control variables and robustness tests. Moreover, the impact of credit conditions is not uniform across firms, but rather it varies depending on firm size and leverage, with constrained firms being substantially more likely to condition their investment decisions on overall credit conditions. Our results cast new light on the interplay between financial and real cycle downturns and underline the need for monetary, fiscal and macroprudential policy to be countercyclical with respect to financial conditions.

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  • Hiona Balfoussia & Heather D. Gibson, 2019. "Firm investment and financial conditions in the euro area: evidence from firm-level data," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(2), pages 104-110, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:apeclt:v:26:y:2019:i:2:p:104-110
    DOI: 10.1080/13504851.2018.1441496
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    JEL classification:

    • E22 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Investment; Capital; Intangible Capital; Capacity
    • E44 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Financial Markets and the Macroeconomy
    • E50 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - General

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