The Different Networks of Firms Implied by the News

Abstract

The interconnectedness of firms through various networks, such as production, credit, and competition, plays a critical role in determining firm-level and aggregate outcomes. However, data on these connections are often limited. This paper introduces a novel artificial intelligence methodology that extracts explicit firm relationship networks from financial news articles, providing comprehensive and interpretable data across multiple dimensions. Applying this methodology to New York Times articles since 1981, we generate extensive networks that predict key macroeconomic indicators. Our publicly accessible dataset offers valuable insights for future research on firm networks and aggregate fluctuations.

Keywords: firm networks, predictability, aggregate fluctuations, natural language processing, large language models. JEL codes: C45, risk management

JEL Classification: D20, E32, C80, G12, G32