Collateral Damage? On Collateral, Corporate Financing and Performance
55 Pages Posted: 19 Jun 2016
There are 2 versions of this paper
Collateral Damaged? Priority Structure, Credit Supply, and Firm Performance
Date Written: June 17, 2016
Abstract
In this paper, we investigate the economy-wide effects of the collateral channel by exploiting: (i) a legal reform in Sweden in 2004 that reduced collateral values, and (ii) a dataset that covers all incorporated firms in Sweden over the period 2000-2006. We find that the loss in collateral value reduces both the amount and the maturity of firm debt and leads firms to contract investment, employment, and assets. The legal reform may distort investment and asset allocation decisions, as firms that reduce their holdings of assets with low collaterizable value and firms that hold more liquid assets consequently become less productive and innovative. Our results therefore document the potency of a collateral channel outside of a crisis.
Keywords: collateral, investment, financial constraints, differences-in-differences, floating lien
JEL Classification: D22, G31, G32
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
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