Monetary Policy, Corporate Financial Composition and Real Activity

This article addresses two fundamental questions about monetary policy, credit conditions and corporate activity. First, can we relate differences in the composition of debt between tight and loose periods of monetary policy to firm characteristics like size, age, indebtedness or risk? Second, do differences in companies' financial compositions matter for real activity of firms such as inventory and employment growth? The article offers some evidence from firms in the UK manufacturing sector which suggests that the composition of debt differs considerably with characteristics such as size, age, debt and risk, it also shows a significant effect from financial composition and cash flow to inventory and employment growth. (JEL codes: E32, E44, E51) Copyright 2006, Oxford University Press.