This paper documents that standard cross-sectional determinants of firm leverage also apply to the capital structure of large banks in the United States and Europe. We find a remarkable consistency in sign, significance and economic magnitude. Like non-financial firms, banks appear to have...

The paper investigates the reaction of public R&D spending on economic crises. We are interested in two counteracting motives: On the one hand, public R&D spending can be seen as a means to fight the crisis, and governments may decide to increase their R&D budgets. On the other hand, a crisis...

Die wirtschaftliche Schieflage in den USA wird sich, nach Ansicht von Josef Braml, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Auswärtige Politik (DGAP), Berlin, weiter zuspitzen. Vor allem die exportabhängige deutsche Wirtschaft wird davon betroffen sein. Deshalb sollte sich die deutsche Politik und...

In seinem einleitenden Beitrag unterstreicht Ludger Wößmann, ifo Institut und LMU, dass Quellen modernen Wachstums in der Wissensgesellschaft vor allem Investitionen in den Wissensbestand der Bevölkerung (Bildung), Generierung und Vermarktung neuen Wissens (Innovation) und Kommunikation von...

The global economic crisis of 2008/2009 hit many firms hard. Faced with rapidly declining sales and highly uncertain economic prospects, firms had to cut costs and reconsider their business strategies. With respect to innovation, cost cutting often means to stop or underresource innovation...

We analyse micro data on Irish mortgages and distressed households' balance sheets in the last decade to assess the debt resolution process in the Irish mortgage market in the lead up to the COVID-19 shock. We highlight the widespread engagement of Irish borrowers with debt resolution mechanisms...