This policy brief investigates the likelihood of corporate insolvency and the potential implications of debt overhang of non-financial corporations associated with the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Based on simple accounting exercises, it evaluates the extent to which firms may deplete their...

The slowdown of economic activity caused by the COVID-19 outbreak and related emergency measures implemented to tackle the health crisis have led to severe difficulties for companies to meet their financial obligations. Many of the fixed costs, such as rents and interest payments, remain due...

On the basis of quarterly data in 1977-87 and the use of the Engle-Granger method of co-integration, we find that real and financial factors, insolvency and illiquidity, are all important, separate influences on the defaults of French firms. We capture the effect of illiquidity by constructing...

This paper develops a general equilibrium model of technological adoption in an economy populated by 'satisficing' entrepreneurs whose main objective is to minimise innovative effort while keeping the firm alive. In such an economy, product market competition is shown to have a stimulating...

We analyse the impact of market structure on the probability of banking failure when banks’ loan portfolios are subject to aggregate uncertainty. In our model borrowers are subject to a moral hazard problem, which induces banks to choose between two second-best alternative devices: costly...

This paper analyses two aspects of banking crises: the choices that banks make to passively roll over loans in default versus actively pursuing their claims; and choices by regulators to ‘punish’ passive and insolvent banks versus rescuing them. Banks may choose to roll over loans in order...