This survey article summarizes the findings of four research projects on the venture capital industry in Europe and the role played by legal institutions and the legal framework. A study on patent litigation insurance argues that insurance can create a level playing field for small innovators,...

The literature on financial imperfections and business cycles has focused onpropagation mechanisms. In this paper we model a purereversion mechanism, such that the economy may converge to a two-period equilibrium cycle. This mechanism confirms that financial imperfections may have a dramatic...

In this paper we argue that firms' financial distress should play a greater role in the macroeconomic analysis of the business cycle. We provide a non-technical account of a general equilibrium model that exhibits financially-driven equilibrium cycles. We show that the empirical evidence is...

This paper explores the business cycle implications of financial distress and bankruptcy law. We find that due to the presence of financial imperfections the effect of liquidations on the price of capital goods can generate endogenous fluctuations. We show that a law reform that ‘softens’...

The literature on financial imperfections and business cycles has focused on propagation mechanisms. In this paper we model a pure reversion mechanism, such that the economy may converge to a two-period equilibrium cycle. This mechanism confirms that financial imperfections may have a dramatic...

The literature on financial imperfections and business cycles has focused onpropagation mechanisms. In this paper we model a purereversion mechanism, such that the economy may converge to a two-period equilibrium cycle. This mechanism confirms that financial imperfections may have a dramatic...