Author: Philippe Aghion
Publisher:
Published: 2005
Total Pages: 50
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOKWe examine how credit constraints affect the cyclical behavior of productivity-enhancing investment and thereby volatility and growth. We first develop a simple growth model where firms engage in two types of investment: a short-term one and a long-term productivity-enhancing one. Because it takes longer to complete, long-term investment has a relatively less procyclical return but also a higher liquidity risk. Under complete financial markets, long-term investment is countercyclical, thus mitigating volatility. But when firms face tight credit constraints, long-term investment turns procyclical, thus amplifying volatility. Tighter credit therefore leads to both higher aggregate volatility and lower mean growth for a given total investment rate. We next confront the model with a panel of countries over the period 1960-2000 and find that a lower degree of financial development predicts a higher sensitivity of both the composition of investment and mean growth to exogenous shocks, as well as a stronger negative effect of volatility on growth. Keywords: Growth, fluctuations, business cycle, credit constraints, amplification, R & D. JEL Classifications: E22, E32, O16, O30, O41, O57.
Book Synopsis Volatility and Growth by : Philippe Aghion
Download or read book Volatility and Growth written by Philippe Aghion and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 50 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We examine how credit constraints affect the cyclical behavior of productivity-enhancing investment and thereby volatility and growth. We first develop a simple growth model where firms engage in two types of investment: a short-term one and a long-term productivity-enhancing one. Because it takes longer to complete, long-term investment has a relatively less procyclical return but also a higher liquidity risk. Under complete financial markets, long-term investment is countercyclical, thus mitigating volatility. But when firms face tight credit constraints, long-term investment turns procyclical, thus amplifying volatility. Tighter credit therefore leads to both higher aggregate volatility and lower mean growth for a given total investment rate. We next confront the model with a panel of countries over the period 1960-2000 and find that a lower degree of financial development predicts a higher sensitivity of both the composition of investment and mean growth to exogenous shocks, as well as a stronger negative effect of volatility on growth. Keywords: Growth, fluctuations, business cycle, credit constraints, amplification, R & D. JEL Classifications: E22, E32, O16, O30, O41, O57.