Democracy favors access to credit of firms

Access to credit is one of the main obstacles for the growth of firms. We test the hypothesis that democracy exerts an impact on access to credit. We perform regressions at the firm-level on a large dataset of 46,000 firms in 108 countries. We find evidence of a negative relationship between democracy and credit constraints for firms. We further establish that democracy contributes to reduce borrower discouragement and leads to more bank loan approval decisions. Our key finding is therefore that democracy favors firms' access to credit. Our work contributes to the debate on the impact of democracy on economic development by considering one firm-level channel of transmission.     

Property rights protection and access to bank loans

Poor protection of private property has limited the access to bank loans by private enterprises in developing and transition economies. Under those circumstances, private entrepreneurs have resorted to various ways of enhancing the de facto protection of private property. Using a dataset of 3,073 private enterprises in China, this paper empirically investigates the impact of political participation and philanthropic activities – informal substitutes for the lack of formal protection of private property – on the access to bank loans.     

Transparency and central bank losses in developing countries

Recent evidence shows central banks suffering from losses in some developing countries. This is a surprise to economists and policymakers. At the same time, these banks are asked to conduct monetary policy within a more transparent framework. Therefore, this paper seeks to answer the following question: Would more transparency in developing countries suffering from central bank losses be beneficial?This paper shows that the cost constraints of conducting monetary policy, central bank losses, in both transparency and opacity alike is significant and affects positively the error of the private sector in expected inflation rate and the output gap. In a country suffering from central bank losses, the expected benefits of transparency and the existence of cost constraint move in two opposite directions. As a result, it is unwise for developing countries suffering from central bank losses to focus on transparency. Priority should be given to fixing monetary policy and to developing financial markets.     

金融科技与中小微企业信贷获取——基于新三板企业的实证研究

中小微企业融资难、融资贵是世界性难题,银行信贷融资是其外部融资的重要来源,但目前过低的融资规模制约了其缓解融资难的有效发挥,如何提升中小微企业的银行信贷融资成为学术界的研究难点。金融科技的迅猛发展是否对解决该难点有所助益？本文以2011—2020年新三板企业为样本对该问题进行考察,研究发现：(1)金融科技能显著提升中小微企业信贷资源获取,该结论在考虑内生性和稳健性检验后依然成立;(2)机制分析表明,金融科技能够通过降低信息不对称、促进商业信用融资以及加剧银行业竞争等渠道显著促进中小微企业的信贷获取;(3)异质性分析表明,金融科技对信贷获取的促进作用在货币政策紧缩时期、信用环境较差地区、中西部地区、融资约束较高、产权性质为非国有以及抵押能力较弱的企业中表现得更加明显;(4)进一步研究表明,金融科技能够降低借贷成本;相对于短信贷期限结构企业,金融科技对于长信贷期限结构企业的正向影响更为明显。本文的研究结论支持了金融科技的长尾效应和普惠性,也为中小微企业获取更多信贷资源,缓解融资难题提供了有效路径。     

Does access to credit improve productivity? Evidence from Bulgaria1

Although it is widely accepted that financial development is associated with higher growth, the evidence on the channels through which credit affects growth at the microeconomic level is scant. Using data from a cross‐section of Bulgarian firms, we estimate the impact of access to credit, as proxied by indicators of whether firms have access to a credit line or overdraft facility, on productivity. To overcome potential omitted variable bias of Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) estimates, we use information on firms’ past growth to instrument for access to credit. We find credit to be positively and strongly associated with TFP. These results are robust to a wide range of robustness checks.     

对我国商业银行信用风险管理的思考

信用风险已经成为我国商业银行面临的严峻挑战。我国商业银行信用风险管理需要解决基础数据、科学评价客户信用、建立信用风险管理文化等一系列问题。     

Foreign bank ownership and income inequality: empirical evidence

ABSTRACT

Using country-level panel data over 1995–2013 on within-country income inequality and foreign bank presence, this paper establishes a positive relation between the two, running from higher foreign bank presence to income inequality. Given that foreign bank participation increased by 62% over the period 1995 to 2013, our baseline results imply a 5.8% increase in the Gini coefficient on average over this period, ceteris paribus. These results are robust to the inclusion of country and year fixed effects and to the use of restrictions on foreign bank entry in the host countries as an instrumental variable. We show that this positive effect is channelled through the lack of greenfield entry and the associated lower levels of competition.     

Central bank independence,inflation and political instability in developing countries

We test whether political instability affects central bank independence in developing countries. Both a legal measure and the turnover tate of central bank governors are used as proxies for central bank independence and the frequency of government transfers is used to proxy political instability. Only the number of coups affects the turnover rate of central bank governors. We also find that both the turnover rate of central bank governors and political instability affect the rate of inflation.     

Foreign bank entry,bank efficiency and market power in Central and Eastern European Countries1

This article analyses the implications of the recently observed sharp expansion of foreign banks in the Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) as measured by equity ownership. We show that the mode of foreign entry has a pivotal impact on the post‐entry performance of banks in CEECs. Foreign greenfield banks are characterized by superior cost efficiency, compared with domestic and foreign‐acquired banks. The efficiency of foreign‐acquired banks deteriorates in the initial year of acquisition, but improves thereafter. Banks acquired by foreigners have less market power relative to domestic and foreign greenfield banks. Overall, the CEEC banking sectors have benefited from the increased foreign bank participation, both in terms of higher efficiency and more competition.     

Effects of main bank switching on new business bankruptcy

This paper examines the effects of main bank switching on the probability of bankruptcy of new small businesses using a propensity score matching estimation approach. We use a unique firm-level dataset of approximately 1,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) incorporated in Japan; these SMEs are young and unlisted just after incorporation. We find that switching main bank relationships increases the probability of firm bankruptcy. In addition, the result holds only when the relationship between the firm and its main bank is terminated. Specifically, the probability of bankruptcy increases when firms switch their main banks to financial institutions with which they have not previously transacted, and when the ex-post main banks are not affiliated financial institutions of their ex-ante main banks. These results may be because such switching worsens the financial condition of client firms, and thus, it leads to bankruptcy.     

Cash flow vs. collateral‐based credit

We study factors affecting micro, small and medium‐sized enterprises (MSMEs) receiving loans and the effect of these loans on MSMEs performance. We study two types of loans – a new type based on cash flows and a traditional‐style loan based on collateral. We use unique surveys of MSMEs from Bulgaria, Georgia, Russia and Ukraine. We find that MSMEs receiving a cash flow or collateral loan in the past are more likely to receive the same type of loan (and larger sized) in the future and that cash flow loans may be the preferred form of credit. Both types of loans are related positively to most performance indicators, enabling the MSMEs for instance to be more profitable and expand production. The cash flow loans also appear to be particularly attractive credit delivery schemes for micro and small enterprises. Finally, the effects of the smallest loans are often negative, suggesting that the minimum loan size is an important policy issue.     

Access to credit and informality among micro and small enterprises in Ethiopia

This paper examines the determinants of Micro and Small and Enterprises (MSEs) access to credit in Ethiopia using detailed firm‐level data collected in 2003. Its basic purpose is to identify the various attributes of a firm that determine its access to credit with an emphasis on the role of firm formality. We find that informal firms are more credit constrained compared to formal firms. A firm’s location, membership of a business association and maintaining an accounting record are found to be important determinants of access to credit. Further, we find firms whose owners have vocational training are more credit constrained than those who are not, as are firms that are exclusively male owned. There is no systematic relation between access to credit and a firm’s age, size and the sector in which it operates. The paper concludes with possible policy interventions designed to improve access to credit for MSEs in Ethiopia.     

互联网金融对银行信用卡业务的冲击和挑战

李克强总理在2014年政府工作报告中指出：“促进互联网金融健康发展,完善金融监管协调机制,密切监测跨境资本流动,守住不发生系统性和区域性金融风险的底线。”互联网金融的概念首次进入政府工作报告,一方面反映了互联网金融有着巨大的发展潜力;另一方面也反映出互联网金融对传统金融领域产生了巨大的震颤,已受到中央决策层高度重视。介绍互联网金融的内涵及特征,我国商业银行信用卡的发展历程和盈利模式,着重分析互联网金融对信用卡业务带来的冲击以及商业银行的应对策略。     

论中小企业的信贷困境与中小银行的抵押品观念创新

近年来我国银行为避免企业信用状况不良导致的违约风险问题，对信息不透明、信用风险高的中小企业普遍采取严格的抵押品型信贷配给，而中小企业介入信贷市场普遍受到抵押资产不足的约束。中小银行与中小企业长期密切合作是实现银行抵押资产观念创新、建立声誉机制的重要途径。     

后金融危机时代中小企业融资难题的破解——河北省中小企业信用再担保体系构建的基本方案设计

金融危机以来,融资难已经成为困扰中国中小企业发展的重要因素之一.国家及许多省市通过探索中小企业信用再担保机构的构建来缓解这一难题.河北省在信用再担保体系构建的实践中相对滞后,因此应构建科学的中小信用再担保体系,从设立宗旨、构建方式、组建模式和资金来源四个方面进行科学合理的设计,构建一个具有准公共物品性质的、由政府出资组建,实行市场化运作的体系应是合理之选.     

基于皮尔森不确定性图的中小企业技术创新领域选择及实现策略

中小企业在国民经济中扮演着越来越重要的角色,他们已经成为市场经济中最活跃的主体,其获得进一步发展的关键在于技术创新。本文分析了中小企业技术创新的特点,根据皮尔森不确定性图中不同象限对创新能力要求以及中小企业技术创新的特点,确定了中小企业的创新领域,并提出中小企业在各个领域创新应采取的策略,从而增强中小企业创新成功的机率,最终实现中小企业做大做强的目标。     

Ownership structure and access to finance in developing countries

Microsurvey data are used to explore the impact of ownership structure and other firm-specific characteristics on firms’ access to finance in 136 developing countries. The analysis uses a consistent and large data set from the World Bank’s Enterprise Surveys (ESs). The results show that ownership structure is a significant predictor of firms’ access to finance but with qualifications. Specifically, private and foreign ownership are more robust predictors of firms financing constraints in developing countries, whilst government ownership and large owners appear significant in accordance with the controlling conditions and mostly in low-income countries. The predictive power and direction of firms’ ownership structure is mitigated by both the specific characteristics of firms and the manner in which country-level factors affect the level of economic and financial activity in a country as well as the individual and social behaviour towards financial contracting.     

Access to credit and its determinants: A comparison of survey‐based measures

Measuring access to finance represents an important challenge in empirical studies. Due to data limitations, perception‐based indicators or the usage of finance are often used as approximations of access to finance. However, these approximations disregard firm‐specific differences in the demand for finance. We derive a direct measure of access to credit from firm‐level survey data and explicitly model credit demand. We study the determinants of access to credit and disentangle, in contrast to other measures, their effects on demand for and access to credit. We find that the usage of credit is not a sufficient approximation, while perception‐based indicators are surprisingly precise.     

中小企业融资的国际经验与中小企业融资新思维

资金匮乏是世界各国中小企业发展所面临的突出问题之一,许多发达国家采取各种金融支持政策和手段来帮助中小企业解决融资难问题,收到了良好的效果,其中一些成功的经验值得我们学习和借鉴.借鉴发达国家解决中小企业融资难问题的一些成功经验,指出中国需要建立符合中小企业特点的融资机制,发展服务于中小企业的权益市场,发展服务于中小企业的债务性融资市场体系,完善中小企业信用担保体系,正确发挥政府的作用等金融创新.     

浅议中国中小企业信贷融资困境与对策

在中小企业的发展过程中,资金匮乏是一个普遍存在的现象。分别从中小企业信用文化的缺失、抵押式担保能力的不足、盈利能力差及经营风险高等内部原因,以及融资体制缺陷、信用担保机制的实施力度不够、信息不对称等外部原因,深入分析导致中国中小企业信贷融资困境的因素,并从自身建设、政府政策、融资环境和金融机构服务等方面提出相应对策,对于中国中小企业健康可持续地发展壮大具有很大的意义和作用。