Ecole des HEC-DEEP
Thèse de doctorat en Sciences Economiques mention "économie politique"

Fabio ALESSANDRINI

On the Impact of Financial Markets on the Real Economy: further Empirical and Theoretical Implications

Directeur : Jean-Pierre Danthine
Imprimatur : novembre 2002

Abstract

The objective of this thesis is to deepen our knowledge of the relationships between financial markets and the real economy along both the empirical and theoretical dimensions. For this purpose we focus on some specific channels of interaction. More particularly, we try to specify whether the forecasting power of some major financial variables, already identified mainly in the US, also applies to Switzerland. In a second chapter, we move to a theoretical issue by trying to amend the standard Real Business Cycle model in order to include a more sophisticated decision process for the firm. In particular, in our setting, the firm solves both a financing and an investment problem, which means that the capital structure matters. Finally, in the final chapter, we examine the role of the financial structure of the firm on the impact of monetary shocks on the economy. We try to determine whether the degree of financial constraint of firms can justify an asymmetric reaction to monetary policy over time.