Zombie firms are declining businesses deemed unable to cover the cost of meeting their existing interest payments on debt from their current profits over an extended period. Some economists argue that zombie firms have become more numerous because of persistently low interest rates in the financial system and the wide range of government subsidies and other financial support (including bail-outs) to firms designed to keep them going. Zombie firms can also be loosely defined as unprofitable firms that remain in a market rather than exiting.