Housing cycle and firm investment: International firm-level evidence

Abstract

The macro-finance literature provides conflicting views on how movements in housing price affect firms’ capital spending or R&D. We further explore this issue by analyzing a comprehensive international firm-level data set. We use the housing price component independent of firms’ investment opportunities and credit supply shocks. The results support the collateral channel as housing price and firm investment exhibit a positive relationship. This collateral channel is more distinct for capital expenditure than R&D, and in housing downturns when firms’ credit constraints bind. Nevertheless, housing appreciations are negatively associated with R&D and large housing booms are also detrimental to capital investment, which suggests a possible resource reallocation from the production sector to the housing sector during those phases. Small firms and firms with stronger investment opportunities respond more sensitively to housing price. Countries that rely more on bank financing and collateralized lending display a larger collateral effect in capital expenditure.