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Productivity and finance: the intangible assets channel - a firm level analysis

Author

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  • Lilas Demmou
  • Guido Franco
  • Irina Stefanescu

Abstract

Using a cross-country firm level panel dataset from 1995 to 2015, this paper revisits the finance–productivity nexus by looking at the role of intangible assets. It argues that due to their specific characteristics, such as valuation uncertainty and lower pledgeability, financing the purchase of intangible assets is more difficult than that of tangible assets. As a result, financial frictions are expected to be more binding for productivity growth in sectors where intangibles have become a pivotal component in firms production function. The analysis relies on a panel fixed effects econometric approach, several indices to capture financial frictions at the firm level and a new measure of intangible intensity at the industry level. We provide evidence that financial frictions act as a drag on productivity growth and especially so with respect to firms operating in intangible intensive sectors. These findings, which are robust to alternative specifications, shed light on the role of financial factors in explaining the productivity slowdown in OECD countries and provide support for using intangible intensity as a new dimension to proxy the relative exposure of industries to financing frictions.

Suggested Citation

  • Lilas Demmou & Guido Franco & Irina Stefanescu, 2020. "Productivity and finance: the intangible assets channel - a firm level analysis," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 1596, OECD Publishing.
    • Handle: RePEc:oec:ecoaaa:1596-en
    DOI: 10.1787/d13a21b0-en
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Giorgio Barba Navaretti & Anna Rosso, "undated". "Access to Capital Markets and the Geography of Productivity Leaders and Laggards," Development Working Papers 469, Centro Studi Luca d'Agliano, University of Milano.
    2. Ryota Nakatani, 2023. "Does debt maturity influence productivity?," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 43(1), pages 116-136.
    3. Minjie Deng & Chang Liu, 2021. "Sovereign Risk and Intangible Investment," Discussion Papers dp21-16, Department of Economics, Simon Fraser University.
    4. Cattaruzzo, Sebastiano & Teruel, Mercedes, 2022. "On the heterogeneity of the long-term leverage-growth relationship: A cross-country analysis of manufacturing firms," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 552-565.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    financial constraints; intangible assets; productivity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • G31 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Capital Budgeting; Fixed Investment and Inventory Studies
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes

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