Graham, John R.; Hazarika, Sonali; Narasimhan, … - 2011
"We use firm-level data to study corporate performance during the Great Depression era for all industrial firms on the … 1928 to 1938. We find that firms with more debt and lower bond ratings in 1928 became financially distressed more … rating agencies. We also document for the first time that firms responded to tax incentives to use debt during the Depression …
