Rebecca Zarutskie

• Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

In this note, we examine the effects of bank credit supply shocks on real economic activity. First, we estimate how GDP and various aggregate demand sectors respond to such shocks. Second, based on the estimated responses, we compute how much those sectors contribute to the overall response of aggregate demand to bank credit supply shocks.

Estimating the effects that bank credit supply has on macroeconomic activity has long been an area of active research. A key challenge in pursuing this goal is the ability to measure such shocks to banks' supply of credit separately from shocks to borrowers' demand for credit.

This paper considers the use of the Federal Reserve’s ability to provide loans to depository institutions under its discount window lending authority in support of achieving its monetary policy objectives through a funding for lending program. Broadly, a funding for lending program could be structured as one in which the Federal Reserve makes ample...

We show that newly hired workers earn higher wages in response to higher firm leverage. Consistent with compensating differential models, these higher wages appear to reflect compensation for the risk of earnings losses in the event of financial distress. For tenured workers, increases in leverage are not associated with higher wages. Our findings...

A notable development in the U.S. banking system following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the rapid and sustained growth in aggregate bank deposits. Total deposits at domestic commercial banks rose by more than 35 percent since the end of 2019 and stood at around $18 trillion as of the fourth quarter of 2021.

We study the effects of the Main Street Lending Program (MSLP) an emergency lending program aimed at supporting the flow of credit to small and mid-sized firms during the COVID-19 crisis on bank lending to businesses. Using instrumental variables for identification and multiple loan-level and survey data sources, we document that the MSLP increased...

We present evidence that some firms pursue mergers with an objective of acquiring and retaining the target firm’s employees. We identify such target firms by the language used to describe employees in their 10-K statements, focusing on references to “skilled” employees. We find a positive correlation between the use of the word “skilled” and post-m...

We review two nonstandard uses of the policy rate tool, which provide additional stimulus when interest rates are close to or at the effective lower bound—forward guidance and negative interest rate policy. In particular, we survey the use of these tools since the start of the Great Recession, review evidence of their effectiveness, and discuss key...

The Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices (SLOOS) provides information about the supply of, and demand for, bank credit in the United States on a quarterly basis. SLOOS responses are used internally by Federal Reserve staff in monitoring bank lending conditions and as an input into research and analysis about broader economic...

We provide estimates of the wage costs of firms' debt exploiting within-firm variation in workers' expected unemployment costs due to variation in local labor market size. We find that, following an increase in firm leverage, workers with higher unemployment costs experience higher wage growth relative to workers at the same firm with lower unemplo...

In this note, we empirically assess whether changes in the interest on excess reserves (IOER) rate and changes in the spread between the IOER rate and the effective federal funds rate (EFFR) have affected banks’ reserve holdings and lending, controlling for changes in the stance of monetary policy and other macroeconomic conditions.

In this note, we examine how U.S. banks' NIMs have varied over the most recent monetary policy tightening episode compared with the three previous monetary policy tightening episodes.

Research summary Using detailed ownership and financial information from a large sample of owner‐managed private firms in three Western European countries, this paper examines the relationship between CEO’s age and firm’s performance. Tracking firms over time, we find that as a CEO ages, the firm experiences lower investment, lower sales growth and...

We provide new estimates of the wage costs of firms' debt. Our empirical approach exploits within-firm geographical variation in workers' expected unemployment costs due to variation in local labor market size and uses a large representative sample of public firms. We find that, following an increase in firm leverage, workers with higher unemployme...

In 2012, several large firms began purchasing single-family homes, creating large portfolios of rental property, and securitizing these investments in capital markets. We present the first systematic evidence on this new investor activity in order to shed light on the factors that have supported its emergence. Three key factors were the ample suppl...

We examine the evolution of several key firm economic and financial variables in the years surrounding and during the Great Recession using the Kauffman Firm Survey, a large panel of young firms founded in 2004 and surveyed for eight consecutive years. We find that these young firms experienced slower growth in revenues, employment, and assets and...

In 2012, several large firms began purchasing single-family homes with the stated intention of creating large portfolios of rental property. We present the first systematic evidence on how this new investor activity differs from that of other investors in the housing market. Many aspects of buy-to-rent investor behavior are consistent with holding...

Research summary : Using a large sample of private firms across Europe, we examine how the social context of owners affects firm strategy and performance. Drawing on embeddedness theory and the institutional logics perspective, we argue that embeddedness in a family, in particular the nuclear family, can strengthen identification and commitment to...

Estimates of investor expectations of government support of large financial firms are often based on large financial firms' lower borrowing costs relative to smaller financial firms. Using pricing data on credit default swaps (CDS) and corporate bonds over the period 2004 to 2013, however, we find that the CDS and bond spreads of financial firms ar...

Estimates of investor expectations of government support of large financial firms are often based on large financial firms' lower borrowing costs relative to smaller financial firms. Using pricing data on credit default swaps (CDS) and corporate bonds over the period 2004 to 2013, however, we find that the CDS and bond spreads of financial firms ar...

In 2012, several large firms began purchasing single-family homes with the stated intention of creating large portfolios of rental property. We present the first systematic evidence on how this new investor activity differs from that of other investors in the housing market. Many aspects of buy-to-rent investor behavior are consistent with holding...

We examine the evolution of several key firm economic and financial variables in the years surrounding and during the Great Recession using the Kauffman Firm Survey, a large panel of young firms founded in 2004 and surveyed for eight consecutive years. We find that these young firms experienced slower growth in revenues, employment, and assets and...

Using matched employee-employer US Census data, we examine the effect of a successful initial public offering (IPO) on employee departures to startups. Accounting for the endogeneity of a firm’s choice to go public, we find strong evidence that going public induces employees to leave for start-ups. Moreover, we document that the increase in turnove...

Government guarantees are often offered as an explanation for why large financial firms borrow more cheaply than small financial firms. However large firms generally borrow more cheaply across a wide range of non-financial industries. We show that the difference in borrowing costs between large and small financial firms is not unusual compared to o...

We discuss recent purchase activity by business investors in the market for single-family homes and consider the possible benefits and risks of this activity.

Young firms disproportionately employ young workers, controlling for firm size, industry, geography and time. The same positive correlation between young firms and young employees holds when we look just at new hires. On average, young employees in young firms earn higher wages than young employees in older firms. Further, young employees dispropor...

We use data over 25 years to understand the life cycle dynamics of VC‐ and non‐VC‐financed firms. We find successful and failed VC‐financed firms achieve larger scale but are not more profitable at exit than matched non‐VC‐financed firms. Cumulative failure rates of VC‐financed firms are lower, with the difference driven largely by lower failure ra...

I examine how U.S. commercial bank loan portfolios change in response to the rise of securitization markets and banking market deregulations over 1976 to 2003. Banks increasingly tilt their portfolios toward real-estate-backed loans. However, there are significant differences across banks. Larger banks and younger banks disproportionately shift the...

We present large-scale evidence that young employees are an important component in the creation and growth of young firms. Young firms disproportionately hire young employees, controlling for firm size, industry, geography and time. In support of the hypothesis that young employees possess unique skills valuable to young firms, we show that young e...

We show that family ownership is associated with more stable and liquid, but slower growing, young firms. Using a large sample of private firms across Europe, we find that family-owned firms have higher profit margins, returns on assets, and survival rates compared to non-family-owned firms. However, family-owned firms also hold greater reserves of...

We present evidence that some firms pursue M&A activity with the objective of obtaining a larger workforce. Firms most likely to be acquired for their large labor force, firms with the largest ex ante employment, are associated with more positive post-merger employment outcomes. Moreover, we find this relation is strongest when acquiring labor outs...

We present evidence that young employees are an important ingredient in the creation and growth of firms. Our results suggest that young employees possess attributes or skills, such as willingness to take risk or innovativeness, which make them relatively more valuable in young, high growth, firms. Young firms disproportionately hire young employee...

I examine how commercial banks’ lending strategies respond to deregulation-driven credit market competition and the concurrent rise in securitization in the U.S. over the period 1976 to 2003. Banks display greater specialization in their loan portfolios after deregulation, with larger and younger banks making more loans backed by real estate, and s...

We present evidence that some firms pursue M&A activity with the objective of obtaining a larger workforce. Firms most likely to be acquired for their large labor force, firms with the largest ex ante employment, are associated with more positive post-merger employment outcomes. Moreover, we find this relation is strongest when acquiring labor outs...

We study the relation between family ownership and performance in a large sample of new …rms. We …nd that new family-owned …rms exhibit better performance than new non-family-owned …rms in terms of higher returns on assets, wider pro…t mar-gins and greater survival rates. These …ndings are especially strong in the earliest years of the …rm life cyc...

We document a strong positive employee age-firm age relation using data from the U.S. Census Bureau's Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics database. We explore several explanations underlying this relation. We examine whether the relation is due to employees aging with firms and whether the relation is due to differences in the industrial compo...

This paper examines whether the human capital of first-time venture capital fund management teams can predict fund performance and finds that it can. I find that fund management teams with more task-specific human capital, as measured by more managers having past experience as venture capitalists and by more managers having past experience as execu...

Shleifer and Summers (1988) argue takeovers are largely motivated by the opportunity to renege on implicit labor contracts. Alternatively, if employees share in any rents generated by the merger, wages may increase. In this paper, we use confidential micro-data from the US Census to document the effects of mergers on wages and find that wages at ta...

Do the low long-run average returns of equity issuers reflect underperformance due to mispricing or the risk characteristics of the issuing firms? We shed new light on this question by examining how institutional lenders price loans of equity issuing firms. Accounting for standard risk factors, we find that equity issuing firms' expected debt retur...

This paper analyzes the role venture capitalist human capital plays in the performance of their portfolio companies. Using information on the educational and work histories of the individual venture capitalists who take board seats with their portfolio companies, I examine the propensity for a portfolio company to exit, via IPO or acquisition, as a...

We use U.S. Census data over twenty-five years to understand the lifecycle dynamics of VC- and non-VC-financed firms. We find both successful and failed VC-financed firms achieve larger scale but are not more profitable at exit than matched non-VCfinanced firms. Cumulative failure rates of VC-financed firms are lower, with the difference being driv...

Competition in credit markets creates incentives for lenders to specialize in lending to particular types of borrowers. However, whether lenders have the ability to specialize at all and, if they can specialize how they will specialize is unclear. I analyze the impact of an exogenous increase in credit market competition, brought about by state-wid...

This paper examines whether the human capital of first-time venture capital fund management teams can predict fund performance and finds that it can. I find that fund management teams with more task-specific human capital, as measured by more managers having past experience as venture capitalists and by more managers having past experience as execu...

Do the low long-run average returns of equity issuers reflect Do the low long-run average returns of equity issuers reflect underperformance due to mispricing or the risk characteristics of the issuing firms? We shed new light on this question by examining how institutional lenders price loans of equity-issuing firms. We find that equity-issuing fi...

This dissertation is a collection of three essays which address several questions in corporate finance and taxation. The first essay uses a panel dataset of balance sheet and income information, taken from the tax returns of U.S. corporations, to study the relationship between bank competition and the financing of firms. Over the period 1987 to 199...

This paper presents evidence on the financial and real effects of bank competition using a large panel of privately held firms. I trace the firm-level impact of the Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act of 1994, which increased the competitiveness of U.S. banking markets. Following the deregulation, newly formed firms used sig...

This paper documents variation in the human capital of private equity fund managers using a dataset of the educational and work histories of private equity fund managers. It then examines whether the human capital composition of private equity fund management teams can explain fund performance. A number of novel empirical patterns are uncovered. Bo...

This paper reconsiders the effects of taxes on firms' organizational form choices when there are differences in the convexity of firms' personal and corporate tax functions and when firms can choose the riskiness of their projects. Deadweight losses can occur when a firm chooses to be a corporate entity rather than a non-corporate entity in respons...

Can venture capitalist skill explain the heterogeneity and persistence of venture capital fund performance, and if so which skills matter and when? This paper sheds light on these two questions by examining whether characteristics based on the educational and work histories of the venture capitalist teams who form first-time funds can predict the p...