Did bank distress stifle innovation during the Great Depression?

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Nanda, Ramana; Nicholas, Tom
• 署名单位: Harvard University
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF FINANCIAL ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0304-405X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jfineco.2014.07.006
• 发表日期: 2014
• 页码: 273-292
• 关键词: Great depression; patents; R&D; BANK DISTRESS

摘要

We find a negative relationship between bank distress and the level, quality and trajectory of firm-level innovation during the Great Depression, particularly for R&D firms operating in capital intensive industries. However, we also show that because a sufficient number of R&D intensive firms were located in counties with lower levels of bank distress, or were operating in less capital intensive industries, the negative effects were mitigated in aggregate. Although Depression era bank distress was associated with the stifling of innovation, our results also help to explain why technological development was still robust following one of the largest shocks in the history of the U.S. banking system. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.