Changing landscape of the finance-growth nexus: Industry growth, credit types, and external financial dependence

The present paper examines the changing landscape of the finance-growth nexus using detailed industry-level data for 40 countries and 20 industries spanning 1980–2020. Regarding the long-term relationship between finance and growth, the findings indicate that industries more dependent on external finance experienced stronger growth in financially more developed markets during the 1980s and 1990s, but weaker growth in the 2000s and 2010s. Moreover, private credit changes are associated with lower industrial growth rates over the medium term. In terms of credit types, corporate credits generally have positive effects, while household credits display negative medium-term growth effects. These results highlight significant changes in the finance-growth relationship over the past four decades.