Abstract
This paper analyses the evolution of debt of Italian firms from 2010 to 2020 with special focus on the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic. We use quantile regressions to assess the vulnerabilities of the most indebted firms. On average Italian non-financial companies (NFCs) reduced their indebtedness over the sample period, a trend which continued during the first year of the pandemic. By exploiting the high heterogeneity in the data, however, we find that the turmoil affected the most indebted firms for which the trend of declining indebtedness was reversed. Moreover, sectors that were suspended during the first lockdown already had the highest levels of the debt-to-assets ratios, and experienced the steepest increase in debt in 2020. Finally, our results show that highly indebted firms exhibit a qualitatively different behaviour compared to the rest of the sample. Excessive debt build-up severely increases the likelihood of non-financial companies exiting the market.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.