Finance and Investment: the European Case

This book is the product of a two-year research programme entitled Restarting European Long-Term Investment Finance (RELTIF), organized by Assonime and the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) in London. The programme brought together leading researchers from across the world to consider the causes of the persistently low level of investment in Europe, to examine the extent to which the financial system was a contributory factor and to identify possible policy remedies for it. It considered the relation of finance to corporate sector investment, the lending behaviour of banks, the provision of equity financing, the role of public sector institutions, regulation, and taxation. The chapters in this volume provide one of the most comprehensive and thorough analyses of any financial system that has been undertaken to date. They reflect a large body of research using new and existing data sets, employing advanced empirical tools, and exploiting the unique insights provided by the tumultuous events of the financial and sovereign debt crises. Together they comprise an exceptional body of knowledge to advance academic thinking and guide policy formulation in the future.