Campus Units
Finance
Document Type
Article
Publication Version
Accepted Manuscript
Publication Date
11-2012
Journal or Book Title
European Economic Review
Volume
56
Issue
8
First Page
1512
Last Page
1529
DOI
10.1016/j.euroecorev.2012.07.007
Abstract
Information problems and lack of collateral value should make R&D more susceptible to financing frictions than other investments, yet existing evidence on whether financing constraints limit R&D is decidedly mixed, particularly in the studies of non-U.S. firms. We study a large sample of European firms and also find little evidence of binding finance constraints when we estimate standard investment-cash flow regressions. However, we find strong evidence that the availability of finance matters for R&D once we directly control for: (i) firm efforts to smooth R&D with cash reserves and (ii) firm use of external equity finance. Our study provides a framework for evaluating financing constraints when firms rely extensively on external finance and endogenously manage buffer stocks of liquidity to keep investment smooth, and our findings show that controlling for this smoothing behavior is critical for uncovering the full effect of financing constraints. Our findings also indicate a major role for external equity in financing R&D, highlighting a causal channel through which stock market development and liberalization can promote economic growth by increasing firm-level innovative activity.
Copyright Owner
Elsevier B.V.
Copyright Date
2012
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Brown, James R.; Martinsson, Gustav; and Petersen, Bruce C., "Do Financing Constraints Matter for R&D?" (2012). Finance Publication. 15.
https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/finance_pubs/15
Included in
Corporate Finance Commons, Finance and Financial Management Commons, Management Information Systems Commons, Strategic Management Policy Commons
Comments
This is an accepted manuscript from European Economic Review, 2012 56(8); 1512-1529. DOI: 10.1016/j.euroecorev.2012.07.007. Posted with permission.