We study the inner workings of internal capital markets during the 2008–09 recession using a unique dataset of loans between business group firms in an emerging market. Intragroup loans increase quickly during the recession. Firms that are more central in the ownership network simultaneously increase lending and borrowing. Acting like simple intermediaries, central firms do not increase net lending. Our results imply that formal control rights are essential for intermediation in internal capital markets, particularly during distress. In line with previous results on winner-picking, receivers of intragroup loans are high-Q, financially constrained firms, which also perform significantly better than providers during the recession.

In all modern bureaucracies, politicians retain some discretion in public employment decisions, which may lead to frictions in the selection process if political connections substitute for individual competence. Relying on detailed matched employer-employee data on the universe of public employees in Brazil over 1997–2014, and on a regression discontinuity design in close electoral races, we establish three main findings. First, political connections are a key and quantitatively large determinant of employment in public organizations, for both bureaucrats and frontline providers. Second, patronage is an important mechanism behind this result. Third, political considerations lead to the selection of less competent individuals.