Too sunny to borrow: Sunshine and borrower discouragement
Résumé
We test the hypothesis that sunshine affects the discouragement of borrowing firms. Using a sample of approximately 45,000 firms from 124 countries for the period 2010–2020, we find that higher sunshine is associated with a greater probability of being discouraged for the borrowing firm. Furthermore, we establish that the discouraging impact of sunshine on the decision to apply for a loan is only observed in low latitude zones. We explain these findings by arguing that more sunshine creates a negative mood in hot regions. Additional results suggest that managerial features affect the discouraging impact of sunshine.