International Transmission of Monetary Shocks: Firm Level Evidence

We examine the international transmission of US monetary policy shocks to European firms using high-frequency identification and granular firm-level panel data. Exploiting monetary policy surprises around FOMC announcements combined with firm-level data across eight European economies over 2004-2024, we document a sharp divergence in spillover effects. A contractionary US monetary shock significantly reduces investment rates and sales growth among UK firms, with investment declining by approximately 4% and sales growth by around 0.7-0.8% at peak, with effects persisting for two to four years. By contrast, Continental European firms, whether members of the euro area or independent-currency economies such as Sweden and Switzerland, do not exhibit a significant response. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that large and small UK firms bear broadly similar average burdens, with large firms showing more precisely estimated responses, while leverage does not systematically differentiate transmission. The UK-EU divergence is not explained by the exchange rate regime: the null result for Continental Europe extends to non-euro countries, pointing instead to the exceptional depth of UK-US financial integration, and the centrality of London in global dollar funding markets.