This paper shows that collateral constraints restrict firm entry and post-entry growth, even in the long-run. We use French administrative data and exploit cross-sectional variation in local house-price appreciation as shocks to the value of collateral available to homeowners. We control for...

We use information on a French loan guarantee program in order to assess the consequences of credit constraints for new ventures. Loan Guarantee Programs, as implemented in France, are an effective instrument to help young firms grow faster, both in terms of employment and capital. These effects...

We analyze how public information on past entrepreneurial failure affects entrepreneurs' ability to borrow. We exploit a policy shock from 2013 in France, which eliminated a highly salient public reporting to banks of managers involved in non-fraudulent corporate liquidations. We find that the...

We analyze how public information on past entrepreneurial failure affects entrepreneurs' ability to borrow and start new ventures. We exploit a policy shock from 2013 in France, which eliminated a widely used means of public reporting to banks of the identity of entrepreneurs involved in past...

Entrepreneurial activity varies substantially across regions and sectors and appears to be related to the stigma of failure. To understand this phenomenon, I present a multiple-equilibrium model based on endogenous stigma of failure. Using private information, entrepreneurs choose whether to...