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Credit Relationships and Business Bankruptcy during the Great Depression

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  • Mary Eschelbach Hansen
  • Nicolas L. Ziebarth

Abstract

Credit relationships are sticky. Stickiness makes relationships beneficial to borrowers in times of their own distress but makes them potentially problematic when lenders themselves face hardship. To examine the role of credit relationships during a financial crisis, we exploit a natural experiment in Mississippi during the Great Depression that generated plausibly exogenous differences in financial distress for banks. Using new data drawn from the publications of the credit rating agency Dun & Bradstreet and from original bankruptcy filings, we show that financial distress increased business exit but did not increase the bankruptcy rate. Financial distress caused both banks and trade creditors to recalibrate their collections strategies, which is revealed by changes in the geographical distribution of the creditors of bankrupt businesses.

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  • Mary Eschelbach Hansen & Nicolas L. Ziebarth, 2017. "Credit Relationships and Business Bankruptcy during the Great Depression," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 9(2), pages 228-255, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aejmac:v:9:y:2017:i:2:p:228-55
    Note: DOI: 10.1257/mac.20150218
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    Cited by:

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    2. Nicolas L. Ziebarth, 2015. "The Great Depression Through the Eyes of the Census of Manufactures," Historical Methods: A Journal of Quantitative and Interdisciplinary History, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(4), pages 185-194, October.
    3. Dongping Xie & Mary Eschelbach Hansen, 2020. "Supply of bank loans and business debts: A view from historical bankruptcy cases," Review of Financial Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 38(S1), pages 170-187, March.
    4. Elena Cefis & Cristina Bettinelli & Alex Coad & Orietta Marsili, 2022. "Understanding firm exit: a systematic literature review," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 59(2), pages 423-446, August.
    5. Goel, Manisha & Zemel, Michelle, 2018. "Switching to bonds when loans are scarce: Evidence from four U.S. crises," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 1-27.
    6. Basker, Emek & Vickers, Chris & Ziebarth, Nicolas L., 2018. "Competition, productivity, and survival of grocery stores in the Great Depression," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 282-315.
    7. Breitenlechner, Max & Mathy, Gabriel P. & Scharler, Johann, 2021. "Decomposing the U.S. Great Depression: How important were loan supply shocks?," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • G24 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Investment Banking; Venture Capital; Brokerage
    • G33 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Bankruptcy; Liquidation
    • N12 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - U.S.; Canada: 1913-
    • N22 - Economic History - - Financial Markets and Institutions - - - U.S.; Canada: 1913-
    • N82 - Economic History - - Micro-Business History - - - U.S.; Canada: 1913-

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