The authors empirically investigate the determinants and consequences of the maturity structure of debt, using data from a panel of UK and Italian firms. They find that in choosing a maturity structure for debt, firms'tend to match assets and liabilities. They conclude that more profitable...

This paper analyzes the effect of the forms of ownership on the substitutability between internal and external sources of fmance. In particular, we test whether fmancial constraints are more severe for independent firms and whether there are differences between members of large national business...

By exploiting a rich firm level database, this paper presents novel empirical evidence on the impact that the introduction of process and product innovations exerts on productivity, as well as on the role played by R&D and fixed capital investment in enhancing the likelihood of introducing...

This paper analyzes the effects of the form of ownership on the substitutability between internal and external sources of finance. In particular, we test whether financial constraints are more severe for independent firms and whether there are differences between members of large national...

This paper contains a detailed empirical investigation of the effect of local banking development on firms' innovative activities, using a rich data set on innovation at the firm level for a large number of Italian firms over the 90's. There is evidence that banking development affects the...

Following the idea that adverse macroeconomic shocks to the economy worsen agency problems between borrowers and lenders, this paper presents empirical evidence that small and large firms react differently to monetary tightening. We use aggregate annual balance sheet data for two subsamples of...

In this paper we analyze the structure of adjustment costs for labor. In particular, the question whether hiring and firing costs are asymmetric is addressed. We maintain the standard assumption of quadratic adjustment costs, but allow the multiplicative coefficient to differ for the firing and...

In this paper we investigate the effect of local banking development on firms’ innovative activities, using a rich data set on innovation for a large number of Italian firms over the 1990’s. There is evidence that banking development affects the probability of process innovation,...