← Search

Venture Capital and the Macroeconomy

Christian C. Opp

The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

Review of Financial Studies 2019

Abstract I develop a model of venture capital (VC) intermediation that quantitatively explains central empirical facts about VC activity and can evaluate its macroeconomic relevance. The impact of VC-backed innovations is significantly larger than suggested by observed aggregate venture exit valuations, even after accounting for large exposures to systematic and uninsurable idiosyncratic risks. The risk properties of venture capital play a quantitatively important role in both explaining empirical regularities and shaping the value of ventures’ contributions to economic growth. The model is analytically tractable and yields exact solutions, despite the presence of matching frictions, imperfect risk sharing, and endogenous growth. Received January 16, 2018; editorial decision November 7, 2018 by Editor Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh.

DOI
10.1093/rfs/hhz031
Volume
32 (11)
Pages
4387-4446
Language
en
Export
BibTeX
Sources
openalex crossref