天美传媒

Date Posted:Tue, 04 Feb 2025 11:24:22 -0600
By improving the pledgeability of returns to financiers, financial development enhances a producer?s ability to raise capital to fund long term complex investments. Consequently, it should increase output and welfare. However, a general equilibrium analysis suggests this is not always so. We consider an economy where producers and consuming/financing households are distinct agents, where producers lack sufficient capital, and where households care about both pledgeable returns and liquidity. In this economy, the greater pledgeability of long-term project earnings can reduce long term production and overall welfare, even though it makes financing more accessible. Our results have implications for why economies face impediments to financial development and overall growth, especially when producer capital is scarce.

Institutional subscribers to the NBER working paper series, and residents of developing countries may download this paper without additional charge at .

Date Posted:Mon, 03 Feb 2025 19:17:20 -0600
By improving the pledgeability of returns to financiers, financial development enhances a producer's ability to raise capital to fund long term complex investments. Consequently, it should increase output and welfare. However, a general equilibrium analysis suggests this is not always so. We consider an economy where producers and consuming/financing households are distinct agents, where producers lack sufficient capital, and where households care about both pledgeable returns and liquidity. In this economy, the greater pledgeability of long-term project earnings can reduce long term production and overall welfare, even though it makes financing more accessible. Our results have implications for why economies face impediments to financial development and overall growth, especially when producer capital is scarce.

Date Posted:Mon, 03 Jul 2023 12:06:50 -0500
The pandemic-induced lockdowns and the global recession of 2020 that followed have created a highly uncertain global outlook. Globalization is stalling, social cohesion is being eroded by unrest and political polarization, and the still-unfolding economic crisis is threatening the livelihoods of those at the lower end of the income spectrum. As existing temporary support measures begin to expire in several countries, it will be of paramount importance to put in place the structural reforms that will help to build back not only better but also broader.

Date Posted:Mon, 19 Jun 2023 04:18:55 -0500
We study how the availability of credit shaped adaptation to the long 1950s US drought. We find that investment in irrigation increased substantially more in drought-exposed areas with access to bank finance. The spillover effects of farmers? ability to adapt to the drought through financing, thus preserving agricultural livelihoods, also lead to the greater survival of retail and manufacturing businesses. Overall, areas with greater access to financing suffered significantly less population decline, both in the short- and long term. Thus, enhancing access to finance can enable communities to adapt to large adverse climatic shocks, and limit migration.

Institutional subscribers to the NBER working paper series, and residents of developing countries may download this paper without additional charge at .

Date Posted:Thu, 15 Jun 2023 16:52:57 -0500
We study how the availability of credit shapes adaptation to a climatic shock, specifically, the long 1950s US drought. We find that bank lending, net immigration, and population growth decline sharply in drought exposed areas with limited initial access to bank finance. In contrast, agricultural investment and long-run productivity increase more in drought-exposed areas when they have access to bank finance, even allowing some of these areas to leapfrog otherwise similar areas in the subsequent decades. We also find unequal access to finance can drive migration from drought-hit finance-poor communities to finance-rich communities. These results suggest that broadening access to finance can enable communities to adapt to large adverse climatic shocks and reduce emigration.

Date Posted:Thu, 08 Jun 2023 11:26:36 -0500
We study how the availability of credit shapes adaptation to a climatic shock, specifically, the long 1950s US drought. We find that bank lending, net immigration, and population growth decline sharply in drought exposed areas with limited initial access to bank finance. In contrast, agricultural investment and long-run productivity increase more in drought-exposed areas when they have access to bank finance, even allowing some of these areas to leapfrog otherwise similar areas in the subsequent decades. We also find unequal access to finance can drive migration from drought-hit finance-poor communities to finance-rich communities. These results suggest that broadening access to finance can enable communities to adapt to large adverse climatic shocks and reduce emigration.

Date Posted:Mon, 22 May 2023 04:47:47 -0500
We find that financial conditions in the core have significant spillover effects on cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As). On average, a 1 percentage point easing of the IMF US Financial Conditions Index is associated with approximately a 10% higher volume of cross-border M&As. The spillovers are stronger for countries with more liabilities denominated in foreign currency (or in US dollars). We find that the spillovers are driven by changes in US financial conditions, rather than changes in Euro Area conditions. Deals that happen when financial conditions in the US are tighter (and therefore acquisitions fewer) add more value for the acquirers, as reflected in higher acquirer excess stock returns around the announcement.

Institutional subscribers to the NBER working paper series, and residents of developing countries may download this paper without additional charge at .

Date Posted:Fri, 31 Mar 2023 17:43:22 -0500
Using natural language processing, we identify corporate goals stated in the shareholder letters of the 150 largest companies in the United States from 1955 to 2020. Corporate goals have proliferated, from less than one on average in 1955 to more than 7 in 2020. While in 1955, profit maximization, market share growth, and customer service were dominant goals, today almost all companies proclaim social and environmental goals as well. We examine why firms announce goals and when. We find goal announcements are associated with management?s responses to the firm?s (possibly changed) circumstances, with the changing power and preferences of key constituencies, as well as from management?s attempts to deflect scrutiny. While executive compensation is still overwhelmingly based on financial performance, we do observe a rise in bonus payments contingent on meeting social and environmental objectives. Firms that announce environmental and social goals tend to implement programs intended to achieve those goals, although their impact on outcomes is unclear. The evidence is consistent with firms focusing on shareholder interests while incorporating stakeholder interests as interim goals. Goals also do seem to be announced opportunistically to deflect attention and alleviate pressure on management.

Date Posted:Mon, 27 Mar 2023 04:19:20 -0500
Using natural language processing, we identify corporate goals stated in the shareholder letters of the 150 largest companies in the United States from 1955 to 2020. Corporate goals have proliferated, from less than one on average in 1955 to more than 7 in 2020. While in 1955, profit maximization, market share growth, and customer service were dominant goals, today almost all companies proclaim social and environmental goals as well. We examine why firms announce goals and when. We find goal announcements are associated with management?s responses to the firm?s (possibly changed) circumstances, with the changing power and preferences of key constituencies, as well as from management?s attempts to deflect scrutiny. While executive compensation is still overwhelmingly based on financial performance, we do observe a rise in bonus payments contingent on meeting social and environmental objectives. Firms that announce environmental and social goals tend to implement programs intended to achieve those goals, although their impact on outcomes is unclear. The evidence is consistent with firms focusing on shareholder interests while incorporating stakeholder interests as interim goals. Goals also do seem to be announced opportunistically to deflect attention and alleviate pressure on management.

Institutional subscribers to the NBER working paper series, and residents of developing countries may download this paper without additional charge at

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