Lack of internal financing is not holding back corporate investment: Nonfinancial corporate sector “financing gap” as a percentage of fixed investment, 1979–2016
| Financing gap as a percentage of fixed investment | |
|---|---|
| 1979Q1 | 15.4% |
| 1979Q2 | 17.1% |
| 1979Q3 | 18.6% |
| 1979Q4 | 19.2% |
| 1980Q1 | 20.9% |
| 1980Q2 | 22.7% |
| 1980Q3 | 21.4% |
| 1980Q4 | 20.7% |
| 1981Q1 | 20.2% |
| 1981Q2 | 17.2% |
| 1981Q3 | 19.6% |
| 1981Q4 | 19.9% |
| 1982Q1 | 16.3% |
| 1982Q2 | 13.5% |
| 1982Q3 | 8.8% |
| 1982Q4 | 3.0% |
| 1983Q1 | -0.8% |
| 1983Q2 | -1.0% |
| 1983Q3 | -0.1% |
| 1983Q4 | 3.2% |
| 1984Q1 | 8.7% |
| 1984Q2 | 12.4% |
| 1984Q3 | 15.1% |
| 1984Q4 | 15.6% |
| 1985Q1 | 12.6% |
| 1985Q2 | 10.0% |
| 1985Q3 | 5.6% |
| 1985Q4 | 5.1% |
| 1986Q1 | 7.1% |
| 1986Q2 | 8.3% |
| 1986Q3 | 9.5% |
| 1986Q4 | 9.0% |
| 1987Q1 | 8.9% |
| 1987Q2 | 7.4% |
| 1987Q3 | 5.9% |
| 1987Q4 | 7.3% |
| 1988Q1 | 4.3% |
| 1988Q2 | 3.6% |
| 1988Q3 | 5.5% |
| 1988Q4 | 3.1% |
| 1989Q1 | 7.3% |
| 1989Q2 | 10.0% |
| 1989Q3 | 11.4% |
| 1989Q4 | 14.4% |
| 1990Q1 | 14.7% |
| 1990Q2 | 15.7% |
| 1990Q3 | 17.8% |
| 1990Q4 | 17.2% |
| 1991Q1 | 15.1% |
| 1991Q2 | 12.1% |
| 1991Q3 | 9.2% |
| 1991Q4 | 9.2% |
| 1992Q1 | 8.5% |
| 1992Q2 | 9.9% |
| 1992Q3 | 11.0% |
| 1992Q4 | 10.7% |
| 1993Q1 | 13.6% |
| 1993Q2 | 13.9% |
| 1993Q3 | 12.4% |
| 1993Q4 | 11.4% |
| 1994Q1 | 8.7% |
| 1994Q2 | 8.2% |
| 1994Q3 | 7.8% |
| 1994Q4 | 9.0% |
| 1995Q1 | 11.3% |
| 1995Q2 | 11.7% |
| 1995Q3 | 13.1% |
| 1995Q4 | 11.5% |
| 1996Q1 | 8.3% |
| 1996Q2 | 6.7% |
| 1996Q3 | 6.2% |
| 1996Q4 | 7.1% |
| 1997Q1 | 8.8% |
| 1997Q2 | 11.7% |
| 1997Q3 | 12.1% |
| 1997Q4 | 12.7% |
| 1998Q1 | 16.0% |
| 1998Q2 | 16.2% |
| 1998Q3 | 17.3% |
| 1998Q4 | 19.0% |
| 1999Q1 | 18.3% |
| 1999Q2 | 18.3% |
| 1999Q3 | 19.7% |
| 1999Q4 | 21.7% |
| 2000Q1 | 23.2% |
| 2000Q2 | 27.1% |
| 2000Q3 | 29.9% |
| 2000Q4 | 31.4% |
| 2001Q1 | 30.8% |
| 2001Q2 | 27.6% |
| 2001Q3 | 24.6% |
| 2001Q4 | 19.8% |
| 2002Q1 | 15.7% |
| 2002Q2 | 12.2% |
| 2002Q3 | 7.6% |
| 2002Q4 | 3.7% |
| 2003Q1 | 1.1% |
| 2003Q2 | -0.1% |
| 2003Q3 | -0.7% |
| 2003Q4 | 0.4% |
| 2004Q1 | 0.4% |
| 2004Q2 | -0.9% |
| 2004Q3 | -1.2% |
| 2004Q4 | 1.8% |
| 2005Q1 | 4.0% |
| 2005Q2 | 2.3% |
| 2005Q3 | -1.7% |
| 2005Q4 | -12.5% |
| 2006Q1 | -13.1% |
| 2006Q2 | -8.9% |
| 2006Q3 | -2.4% |
| 2006Q4 | 9.6% |
| 2007Q1 | 11.3% |
| 2007Q2 | 12.4% |
| 2007Q3 | 16.2% |
| 2007Q4 | 15.8% |
| 2008Q1 | 17.8% |
| 2008Q2 | 19.5% |
| 2008Q3 | 15.4% |
| 2008Q4 | 11.1% |
| 2009Q1 | 4.8% |
| 2009Q2 | -4.9% |
| 2009Q3 | -15.3% |
| 2009Q4 | -22.9% |
| 2010Q1 | -27.9% |
| 2010Q2 | -28.4% |
| 2010Q3 | -24.0% |
| 2010Q4 | -20.8% |
| 2011Q1 | -17.0% |
| 2011Q2 | -15.3% |
| 2011Q3 | -15.0% |
| 2011Q4 | -13.5% |
| 2012Q1 | -12.3% |
| 2012Q2 | -10.0% |
| 2012Q3 | -6.6% |
| 2012Q4 | -3.4% |
| 2013Q1 | -4.3% |
| 2013Q2 | -4.8% |
| 2013Q3 | -3.1% |
| 2013Q4 | -5.2% |
| 2014Q1 | -1.6% |
| 2014Q2 | 0.5% |
| 2014Q3 | -1.2% |
| 2014Q4 | -0.4% |
| 2015Q1 | -0.9% |
| 2015Q2 | 2.0% |
| 2015Q3 | 3.8% |
| 2015Q4 | 6.2% |
| 2016Q1 | 6.2% |
| 2016Q2 | 4.2% |
| 2016Q3 | 2.9% |
| 2016Q4 | 2.1% |
Note: “Financing gap” is a measure of the difference between fixed investment and internal funds available to the corporation to finance it. Specifically, it is capital expenditures minus the sum of internal funds (mostly corporate profit) and inventory valuations.
Source: Authors’ analysis of data from Federal Reserve Financial Accounts of the United States, Table B.103 (Federal Reserve Board various years)