摘要：To what extent are new and/or innovative firms
fundamentally different from established firms,
and therefore require a different form of financing?
The theoretical background for this proposition is
presented, and the empirical evidence on its importance
is reviewed. Owing to the intangible nature of their
investment, asymmetric-information and moral-
hazard, these firms are more likely to be financed by
equity than debt and behave in some cases as though
they are cash-constrained, especially if they are small.
Recognising the role for public policy in this area,
many countries have implemented specific policies
to bring the cost of financing innovation more in line
with the level that would prevail in the absence of
market failures.
