Using recently collected data on Finnish small businesses, we provide evidence that the debt capacity of growth options, defined as the amount of debt that firms optimally raise for an incremental project, is negative, especially in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector. We...

We study the effects of investor protection on the availability of external finance, entrepreneurship, and creation of new firms in an equilibrium search model of private capital markets. In addition to search frictions, we examine contract frictions, specifically interim and ex post moral...

Using new data originating from a recently conducted survey, this paper examines the financing of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in private equity and debt markets in Finland. We find that the three most important sources of funds are the principal owner’s equity, trade credit...

In this paper we present a comparative analysis of Nordic countries’ financial systems and consider in particular the recent growth of Nordic venture capital industries. We document that the Nordic countries’ financial systems display several similarities that have characterized their...

In this paper we study the relation between firm-level disclosure quality and the availability of external finance to firms. Using data on Finnish firms that are mostly private and small, we first estimate ‘excess growth’ made possible by external finance. We then show that the excess growth...

This paper provides evidence that capital market imperfections hold back innovation and growth, and that public policy can complement capital markets. We deliver the evidence by studying the effects of government funding on the behavior of SMEs in Finland. By adapting the methodology recently...

This paper presents the first results of ETLA and Etlatieto Ltd Study of Finnish biotechnology firms. The majority of Finnish biotechnology firms are quite young and still in the early stages of gainful economic activities. Their turnover, profits and exports are, for the younger firms in...

The paper investigates whether the presence and tenure of Private Equity (PE) investment in European companies improves their performance. Previous studies documented the unambiguous merit of a buyout during the 1980s and 1990s for listed firms in the US and UK markets. This study analyzes such...

A dynamic process underlying firms' discrete financial choices has previously been found, but without controlling for unobserved heterogeneity, this dependence can either be of a true nature or an effect of firm-specific characteristics that we cannot observe. This study extends previous...

Foreign direct investment has been one of the main drivers of economic developments over the past few years in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Within the ongoing globalization and international division of labor, a large number of foreign companies have established production units in CEE...