Monetary Policy, Corporate Financial Composition and Real Activity

This article addresses two fundamental questions about monetarypolicy, credit conditions and corporate activity. First, canwe relate differences in the composition of debt between tightand loose periods of monetary policy to firm characteristicslike size, age, indebtedness or risk? Second, do differencesin companies’ financial compositions matter for real activityof firms such as inventory and employment growth? The articleoffers some evidence from firms in the UK manufacturing sectorwhich suggests that the composition of debt differs considerablywith characteristics such as size, age, debt and risk, it alsoshows a significant effect from financial composition and cashflow to inventory and employment growth. (JEL codes: E32, E44,E51)