Key Highlights
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Banks are less likely to lend to green companies whose innovations threaten the value of the banks’ existing investments in older, polluting industries. This “asset overhang” makes green firms 3 to 7 percentage points more likely to face tight credit, slowing the transition to cleaner technologies.
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The study finds that investors without ties to legacy industries can help solve this problem by providing the necessary funding for green innovation, demonstrating that the source of capital is critical for enabling technological change.
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Companies that invest in AI, like hiring AI-skilled workers, are better at managing their taxes effectively because AI helps them process complex information and make smarter business predictions. This effect is strongest in complex companies and where the tax department has more influence.
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AI improves tax planning not by finding loopholes, but by enhancing the quality of internal company information and improving how capital is managed internally, showing it’s a tool for better overall decision-making.
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When companies adopt digital tools, they can move to more valuable positions in global supply chains, handling more production stages and getting closer to the end consumer. This shift is driven by digitalization boosting innovation, using more skilled workers, and cutting information costs.
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This research provides causal evidence that going digital is a strategic move for firms wanting to upgrade in the global economy and build more resilient supply chains, moving beyond simple cost-cutting.
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Financialization, the growing role of finance in the economy, has evolved since the 2008 crisis and is now characterized by more shadow banking, investment in complex assets, and everyday households acting as investors. These trends reshape business operations and how economic resources are distributed across society.
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Understanding this new phase of financialization is crucial because it has wide implications for the stability of the financial system and inequality, requiring updated frameworks for analysis and policy.
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Uncertainty about future climate policies, like carbon taxes or regulations, can cause credit risk (the chance of default) to spread between different industry bonds. This shows that policy uncertainty is a tangible financial risk that can ripple through the economy.
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The research provides new evidence on the specific pathways through which climate policy uncertainty impacts financial markets, highlighting a direct link between environmental policy and investment risk.
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