The Macroeconomics of Trade Credit


Book Description

In most countries, suppliers of intermediate goods and services are also the main providers of short-term financing to firms. This paper studies the macroeconomic implications of these financial links. In our model, trade credit is the outcome of a long-term contract between firms linked in the production process, and it is sustained in equilibrium by reputation forces as customers lose the relationship with their suppliers in case of a default. These financial links give rise to a credit multiplier: suppliers can enforce repayment of these IOUs, and they can discount these bills with banks to obtain liquidity. This process can either dampen or amplify the output effects of financial shocks, depending on the borrowing capacity of suppliers. Using Italian data, we find that the credit multiplier is sizable and show that trade credit amplified the output costs of the Great Recession by 45%.




Trade Credit and the Effect of Macro-Financial Shocks


Book Description

Many studies examine why firms are financed by their suppliers, but few empirical studies look at the macroeconomic implications of such financial arrangements. Using disaggregated panel data, we examine how firms extend and use trade credit. We find that, controlling for the transactions or asset management motive, both accounts payable and receivable increase with tighter policy, implying that trade credit helps firms absorb the effect of a credit contraction. A comparison of S&P 500 firms with smaller firms, however, provides no evidence that when policy is tightened, large firms play the role of credit suppliers more actively than small firms.




Customer Market Power and the Provision of Trade Credit


Book Description

Statistics show that the sale of goods on credit is widespread among firms even when they are capital constrained and thus face relatively high costs in providing trade credit. This study provides an explanation for this by arguing that customers who possess strong market power are able to increase their customer surplus by demanding to purchase the goods on credit. This gain in customer surplus increases with the degree of asymmetric information between buyer and seller with respect to product quality. Therefore, firms that are perceived as risky are especially subject to the market power of the customer and have to sell their goods on credit. Using detailed firm-level data from a large number of firms in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, this study finds evidence consistent with this hypothesis. It finds a strong positive correlation between customer market power and trade credit provision. Furthermore, this relationship is especially strong when the supplier is more risky and in countries with limited financial sector development or a weak legal system.




Aspects of Trade Credit


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Formal Finance and Trade Credit During China's Transition


Book Description

Using a large panel dataset of Chinese industrial firms, the authors examine the determinants of access to loans from formal financial intermediaries and extension of trade credit. Poorly performing state-owned enterprises were more likely to redistribute credit to firms with less privileged access to loans through trade credit, a pattern consistent with some of the extension of trade credit being involuntary. By contrast, profitable private domestic firms were more likely to extend trade credit than unprofitable ones. Trade credit likely provided a substitute for loans for these private firms' customers that were shut out of formal credit markets. As biases in lending became less severe, the amount of trade credit extended by private firms declined.




Does Trade Credit Substitute Bank Credit? Evidence From Firm-Level Data


Book Description

The paper examines micro data on Italian manufacturing firms' inventory behavior to test the Meltzer (1960) hypothesis according to which firms substitute trade credit for bank credit during periods of monetary tightening. It finds that their inventory investment is constrained by the availability of trade credit. As for the magnitude of the substitution effect, however, this study finds that it is not sizable. This is in line with the micro theories of trade credit and the evidence on actual firm practices, according to which credit terms display modest variations over time.




The Economics of Corporate Trade Credit in Europe


Book Description

"The book is a research monograph addressed to a wide range of academics interested in corporate short-term capital. The study shows the role of trade credit in the functioning of economic entities. It constitutes a comprehensive source of knowledge about the role of trade credit in the development of enterprises, as well as the impact of this form of financing on the development of economies. Apart from an extensive review of the theoretical aspects of the role of trade credit in the economy, the study discusses the importance of factors influencing trade credit behaviour. Trade credit, despite its versatility, has not yet been fully described, particularly with regard to the specificity of domestic markets. This study aggregates and supplements the existing sources. The monograph is of international character, as it covers a substantial group of European countries. Therefore, it is likely to have international appeal. The findings may be of interest to those involved in finance management. Understanding the differences in receivables management resulting from the country specificity can contribute to a better understanding of business financing and its operational functioning. This knowledge may support the effective management of receivables and liabilities, especially in companies operating on the global market"--




Trade credit, financial intermediary development, and industry growth


Book Description

Where do firms turn for financing in countries with poorly developed financial markets? One source is trade credit. And where formal financial intermediaries are deficient, industries that rely more on this source of financing grow faster.




Trade Credit Default


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