International credit can be fickle and subject to sudden stops during periods of global economic stress. Non-financial corporate borrowers that rely on credit from abroad are vulnerable to reversals in capital flows. Similarly, corporates that borrow in foreign currency may face problems rolling...

We study the relationship between corporate debt, corporate risk and firm-level investment, using a sample of 25,000 listed companies across 47 countries over the last two decades. We find higher leverage reduces investment but show the effect varies with risk, as measured by firm time-varying...

We examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on firm borrowing behavior across 31 countries. We exploit the quasi-experimental properties of this pandemic to investigate how national culture, government preparedness, and response to the pandemic affect corporate borrowing and the structure of...

We present a DSGE model where firms optimally choose among alternative instruments of external finance. The model is used to explain the evolving composition of corporate debt during the financial crisis of 2008-09, namely the observed shift from bank finance to bond finance, at a time when the...

This paper studies how crises prompted firms to switch borrowing across markets, impacting the amount borrowed, maturity, and currency denomination at the firm and aggregate levels. Using data on worldwide debt issuance from advanced and emerging economies, the paper shows that firms shifted...

This paper surveys the literature to document the main stylized facts, risks, and policy challenges related to the expansion of global nonfinancial corporate debt after the 2008-09 global financial crisis. Nonfinancial corporate debt steadily increased after the crisis, especially in emerging...