Working Paper Series no. 96: Investment, the Cost of Capital and Monetary Policy in the Nineties in France: A Panel Data Investigation

Abstract

Using a large panel of about 6,946 French manufacturing firms, this paper investigates the effect of monetary policy from 1990 to 1999 on investment through the cost of capital and the cash-flow channels. We compare several specifications of the neo-classical demand for capital, taking into account transitory dynamics. The user cost of capital has a significant negative elasticity with respect to capital using the traditional within estimates, or as long as cash-flow are not added in the regression when using Generalized Method of Moments estimates. Asymmetries of effect of monetary policy are evaluated on different groups of firms which differ with respect to informational asymmetries.

Jean-Bernard Chatelain and André Tiomo
December 2002

Classification JEL : C23, D21, D92.

Keywords : Investment, Monetary Policy, Generalized Method of Moments, Cost of Capital.