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What if Firms Could Borrow More? Evidence from a Natural Experiment

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  • James R. Brown
  • Gustav Martinsson
  • Christian Thomann

Abstract

We study the effects of a unique lending program initiated by the Swedish government at the height of the financial crisis that allowed firms to suspend payment of all labor-related taxes and fees. Comprehensive administrative data on all Swedish firms show that firms borrowing from the program have higher rates of debt growth, investment spending, and employment growth compared to otherwise similar firms whose labor taxes were sufficiently low they could not benefit from the program. These results connect the availability of external credit with real activity in entrepreneurial firms in a way that has proved difficult in other settings.

Suggested Citation

  • James R. Brown & Gustav Martinsson & Christian Thomann, 2015. "What if Firms Could Borrow More? Evidence from a Natural Experiment," CESifo Working Paper Series 5458, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_5458
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    Cited by:

    1. Hanspal, Tobin, 2016. "The effect of personal financing disruptions on entrepreneurship," SAFE Working Paper Series 161, Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    credit constraints; financial crisis; debt policy; entrepreneurial finance; employment growth; real activity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G01 - Financial Economics - - General - - - Financial Crises
    • G18 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • O16 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Financial Markets; Saving and Capital Investment; Corporate Finance and Governance

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