This paper explores the impact of cyclical macroeconomic fluctuations on corporate R&D spending. Most existing studies are conducted at the industry or firm level and find procyclical corporate R&D. Some of these studies also provide evidence suggesting credit constraints play an important role...

This paper investigates the impact of output and credit market shocks on R&D spending in advanced economies and builds on the commonly accepted view that credit constraints lead to procyclical R&D spending. A theoretical model is developed where output and credit shocks are treated separately,...