Score contribution per author:
α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count
The discouragement of potential bank borrowers is a credit market outcome, where discouraged firms are those who need bank credit but do not apply for it due to fear of rejection. Discouragement may arise from behavioural factors shaping firms’ perceptions of the probability of being rejected. We examine whether central bank communication, captured by the tone of central bankers’ speeches, affects the observed discouragement likelihood. The results document a robust negative relationship between the tone of central bankers’ speeches and borrowers’ discouragement across Eurozone countries. This result remains intact in the presence of a wide set of firm-specific and macroeconomic control variables and robustness tests.