I investigate influences of unemployment insurance benefits on the cost of bank loans by exploiting changes in state unemployment insurance laws as a source of variation in labor unemployment costs. The evidence shows that the cost of bank loans is significantly lower for firms headquartered in...

We investigate the influences of local product market competition on the cost of private debt. Our evidence suggests that the cost of bank loans is significantly higher for firms headquartered in states with greater local product market competition measured by the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index for...