Oxford Events, the new replacement for OxTalks, will launch on 16th March. The two-week OxTalks freeze period starts on Monday 2nd March. During this time, there will be no facility to publish or edit events. The existing OxTalks site will remain available to view during this period. Once Oxford Events launches, you will need a Halo login to submit events. Full details are available on the Staff Gateway.
When do positive news about future technological advancements have the greatest economic impact: during recessions or economic booms? Recessions may represent opportune times for investment in relatively cheaper, productivity-enhancing activities. However, tighter financial constraints during recessions may limit the ability to secure funding for such investments. We explore this dichotomy by exploiting patent-based innovation shocks, defined by changes in stock market valuations of firms receiving patent grants. Our results show that aggregate patent-based innovation shocks have a greater impact on the economy during recessions, leading to a more significant rise in private investment. Firm-level data further reveals that firms tend to increase capital investment and R&D expenditures in response to these innovation shocks, especially during recessions. Financial constraints play a crucial role, with the larger impact during recessions driven by firms with low default risk.
