Macro-finance analyses commonly link firms' borrowing constraints to the liquidation value
of physical assets. For US nonfinancial firms, we show that 20% of debt by value is based on …

This paper analyzes the evolution of the main theories regarding the capital structure and
the related impact on risk and corporate performance. The capital structure is a dynamic …

Microeconomic evidence reveals a direct link between firms' current earnings and their
access to debt. This paper studies macroeconomic implications of earnings-based …

The share of secured debt issued (as a fraction of total corporate debt) declined steadily in
the United States over the twentieth century. This stems partly from financial development …

Unsecured firm credit moves procyclically in the United States and tends to lead gross
domestic product, while secured firm credit is acyclical. Shocks to unsecured firm credit …

We distinguish between collateral and secured debt. Secured debt is explicitly
collateralized, placing a lien on specific assets, which facilitates enforcement. Unsecured …

Combining industry-level data on output and prices with novel monetary policy shock
estimates for 102 countries, we analyze how the effects of monetary policy vary with industry …

Abstract This essay reviews Michel De Vroey's important new book on the history of
macroeconomics, which extends to business cycles an earlier book by the same author on …

This paper investigates the causal effect of economic sentiment on consumption using
Gallup micro-data between 2008 and 2017. After showing that individuals update their …

Ample literature builds on the notion that real estate values boost corporate secured
borrowing (“collateral channel”). A comprehensive contract-level database allows us to …