Includes innovative attempts to investigate the causal links among macroeconomic models, institutional phenomena and industrial structure.This book relates the literatures of finance, industrial economics and investment to the theoretical framework of the 'credit view'. First, banks' decisions concerning their assets are seen as at least as relevant as their decisions concerning their liabilities. Second, securities and bank credit are highly imperfect substitutes. The interactions between real and financial sectors are analyzed from the point of view of the industrial firm, in a model where the investment and financial decisions of the firm are taken simultaneously.This book relates the literatures of finance, industrial economics and investment to the theoretical framework of the 'credit view'. First, banks' decisions concerning their assets are seen as at least as relevant as their decisions concerning their liabilities. Second, securities and bank credit are highly imperfect substitutes. The interactions between real and financial sectors are analyzed from the point of view of the industrial firm, in a model where the investment and financial decisions of the firm are taken simultaneously.This book relates the literatures of finance, industrial economics and investment to the theoretical framework of the credit view. First, banks' decisions concerning their assets are seen as at least as relevant as their decisions concerning their liabilities. Second, securities and bank credit are highly imperfect substitutes. The interactions between real and financial sectors are analyzed from the point of view of the industrial firm, in a model where the investment and financial decisions of the firm are taken simultaneously.Preface and Acknowledgements; 1. Introduction; Part I. Banks, Credits and the Macroeconomy: A Puzzle: 2. Credit, financial markets and the macroeconomy: different approaches and a proposed perspective; 3. Securitization and the empirics of bank creditl³-