贷款机构通常不愿为企业的创新活动提供融资，因为这些活动往往具有不透明性，且存在较高失败风险，可能阻碍贷款的偿还。我们认为，公共信用登记系统（PCRs）在许多国家的信用信息共享中扮演重要角色，可以通过减少逆向选择和道德风险以及增加银行竞争来促进融资。通过利用不同国家公共信用登记系统的逐步建立以及国际企业财务-专利数据集，我们发现信用信息共享对企业创新具有积极影响，尤其是在公共信用登记系统建立后银行债务融资显著增加的企业中。这一发现与信用信息共享通过缓解银行债务融资摩擦促进企业创新的观点相一致。我们还发现，在公共信用登记系统建立后银行竞争显著增加的国家中，这种积极效应更为显著——这与银行竞争增加作为信用信息共享促进银行债务融资的渠道相一致，从而对企业创新产生积极影响。当建立的公共信用登记系统具有促进信用信息共享的特征时，这种积极效应更为明显。对于不透明的企业和创新密集型行业的企业，这种效应也更为显著，表明信用信息共享有助于减少融资摩擦。最后，我们发现在公共信用登记系统建立后，企业将创新投入转化为产出的效率有所提高。总体而言，本文为信用信息共享如何促进企业创新提供了新的见解。

Lenders are reluctant to finance firms' innovation activities because such activities tend to be opaque, with a high likelihood of negative outcomes that could hamper loan repayment. We posit that public credit registries (PCRs), which play an important role in credit information sharing in many countries, can facilitate financing by reducing adverse selection and moral hazard and increasing bank competition. Using the staggered establishment of PCRs in different countries and an international firm–patent data set, we find that credit information sharing positively affects firm innovation, especially in firms that experience a larger increase in bank debt financing after the establishment of a PCR. This finding is consistent with the notion that credit information sharing promotes firm innovation by easing bank debt financing frictions. We also find a stronger effect in countries that experience a large increase in bank competition after the establishment of a PCR—consistent with increased bank competition serving as a channel through which credit information sharing facilitates bank debt financing, thereby generating a positive effect on firm innovation. The positive effect is more pronounced when the established PCR has features that promote credit information sharing. It is also more pronounced for opaque firms and firms in innovation-intensive industries, indicating that credit information sharing helps to reduce financing frictions. Finally, we posit and find evidence that firm efficiency in transforming innovation inputs into outputs improves after the establishment of a PCR. Overall, our paper offers novel insights into how credit information sharing facilitates firm innovation.