Michael Sigmund

We study how monetary policy affects firm-level total factor productivity in the presence of financial frictions using a panel of Austrian non-financial firms. A dynamic firm model and causal empirical framework show that tighter monetary policy reduces productivity-enhancing investment and ...

In this study, we analyze how European regulators set the countercyclical capital buffer (CCyB). We find that they do not strictly follow international rules. Instead, decisions are often made using a positive, cycle-neutral buffer. If these rules had existed before the 2007–2008 global ...

We analyze the impact of negative reference rates on the interest behavior of more than 500 Austrian banks from 2009Q1 to 2021Q4. Using panel vector error correction analysis with the Engle-Granger procedure in two steps, we establish a cointegration vector that links bank-specific lending ...