With insufficient profits to use for investment, nonfinancial corporations will become increasingly dependent on external finance. As their leverage ratios increase, so will their risk premiums, causing their borrowing costs to rise and undermining their profitability further.
非金融企业没有足够多的利润用于投资，因而将日益依赖外部融资。随着它们的杠杆率的提高，风险溢价也会随之上升，导致他们的借贷成本升高，从而进一步制约利润率。这一恶性循环很难打破。比如，如果公司降低投资，就会危及增长，从而进一步增加杠杆率。