Aghion, PhilippeAskenazy, PhilippeBerman, NicolasCette, GilbertEymard, Laurent2016-07-272012Aghion, Philippe, Philippe Askenazy, Nicolas Berman, Gilbert Cette, and Laurent Eymard. 2012. “Credit Constraints and the Cyclicality of R&D Investment: Evidence from France.” Journal of the European Economic Association 10 (5) (September 6): 1001–1024. doi:10.1111/j.1542-4774.2012.01093.x.1556-5068http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:27759621We use a French firm-level panel data set over the period 1993-2004 to analyze the relationship between credit constraints and firms' R&D behavior over the business cycle. Our main results can be summarized as follows: (i) the share of R&D investment over total investment is countercyclical without credit constraints, but it becomes more procyclical as firms face tighter credit constraints; (ii) the result is magnified for firms in sectors that depend more heavily upon external finance; (iii) in more credit constrained firms, R&D investment share plummets during recessions but does not increase proportionally during upturns; (iv) average R&D investment and productivity growth are more negatively correlated with sales volatility in more credit constrained firms.en-USBusiness cyclesR&DCredit constraintsVolatilityJournal Article2016-07-27