Structural monetary policy and corporate innovation resilience: an empirical study based on China’s MLF collateral expansion

Structural monetary policy influences corporate innovation by targeting financial resources towards specific sectors, firms, or instruments rather than relying solely on aggregate monetary adjustments. Using the 2018 collateral expansion of the medium-term lending facility (MLF) as a quasi-natural experiment and panel data on Chinese A-share listed firms from 2013 to 2024, this study finds that MLF collateral expansion significantly enhances corporate innovation resilience. The results remain robust across alternative specifications and robustness checks. Mechanism analysis shows that the policy strengthens innovation resilience through improved financing conditions, greater analyst consensus, and optimized human capital allocation.