Financial Development and Innovation: The Role of Market Structure*

Abstract

We assess how financial development affects innovation. For this purpose, we employ a unique Research Quotient data set from 1980 to 2018, and observe significant inverted-U effects of financial development on innovation for equity and credit markets. Specifically, the effects of the markets are sector-specific, implying that the inverted-U effect of the equity market on innovation is mainly driven by its diminishing effect on innovation in high-technology industries, while credit markets mostly affect innovation in non-high-technology industries. Regarding the mechanism, we posit that the inverted-U shape between finance and innovation may be explained by the disproportionate funds allocation-induced market concentration.