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Is trade credit more expensive than bank loans? Evidence from Italian firm-level data

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  • Giuseppe Marotta

Abstract

The study, aimed at evaluating the likely effects of the EC Directive on late payments, provides direct evidence that interfirm credit received by Italian manufacturing firms is, if ever, only slightly more expensive than bank loans. An econometric exercise shows that financial determinants have a stronger impact on recorded credit and debt periods for larger firms, able to use trade credit to smooth their cycle; smaller firms seem to adapt more passively to counterparties' supply and demand. A novel finding is that shorter credit periods are associated to the directly measured discount offered for quicker payments.

Suggested Citation

  • Giuseppe Marotta, 2001. "Is trade credit more expensive than bank loans? Evidence from Italian firm-level data," Heterogeneity and monetary policy 0103, Universita di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Dipartimento di Economia Politica.
    • Handle: RePEc:mod:modena:0103
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Lin, Tsung-Te & Chou, Jian-Hsin, 2015. "Trade credit and bank loan: Evidence from Chinese firms," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 17-29.
    2. Fabbri, Daniela & Klapper, Leora, 2008. "Market power and the matching of trade credit terms," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4754, The World Bank.
    3. Fabbri, Daniela & Menichini, Anna Maria C., 2010. "Trade credit, collateral liquidation, and borrowing constraints," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(3), pages 413-432, June.
    4. Pedro J. García-Teruel & Pedro Martínez-Solano & Juan P. Sánchez-Ballesta, 2014. "Supplier Financing and Earnings Quality," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(9-10), pages 1193-1211, November.
    5. Anne-France Delannay & Laurent Weill, 2005. "The Determinants of Trade Credit in Transition Countries," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 37(3), pages 173-193, September.
    6. Jézabel Couppey-Soubeyran & Jérôme Héricourt, 2011. "The relationship between trade credit, bank credit and financial structure: from firm-level non-linearities to financial development heterogeneity. A study on MENA firm-level data," Documents de travail du Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne 11008, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris 1), Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne.
    7. Ferrando, Annalisa & Mulier, Klaas, 2013. "Do firms use the trade credit channel to manage growth?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(8), pages 3035-3046.
    8. Simona Mateut, 2005. "Trade Credit and Monetary Policy Transmission," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 19(4), pages 655-670, September.
    9. Panos Kouvelis & Wenhui Zhao, 2012. "Financing the Newsvendor: Supplier vs. Bank, and the Structure of Optimal Trade Credit Contracts," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 60(3), pages 566-580, June.
    10. Couppey-Soubeyran Jézabel & Héricourt Jérôme, 2013. "The Impact of Financial Development on the Relationship between Trade Credit, Bank Credit, and Firm Characteristics: A Study on Firm-Level Data from Six MENA Countries," Review of Middle East Economics and Finance, De Gruyter, vol. 9(2), pages 197-239, August.
    11. Leora Klapper & Luc Laeven & Raghuram Rajan, 2012. "Trade Credit Contracts," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 25(3), pages 838-867.
    12. David Abad & Juan Pedro Sánchez-Ballesta & José Yagüe, 2017. "The short-term debt choice under asymmetric information," SERIEs: Journal of the Spanish Economic Association, Springer;Spanish Economic Association, vol. 8(3), pages 261-285, August.
    13. Ellingsen, Tore & Burkart, Mike, 2002. "In-Kind Finance," CEPR Discussion Papers 3536, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    14. Galya Taseva, 2019. "Passivity of Creditors among Non-Financial Enterprises in Bulgaria," Economic Studies journal, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences - Economic Research Institute, issue 6, pages 128-159.
    15. Galya Taseva, 2012. "Overdue Intercorporate Debts in Bulgaria," Economic Thought journal, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences - Economic Research Institute, issue 3, pages 76-94.
    16. Thang, Doan Ngoc & Ha, Le Thanh, 2022. "Trade credit and global value chain: Evidence from cross-country firm-level data," International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 110-129.
    17. Zhong, Yuanguang & Shu, Jia & Xie, Wei & Zhou, Yong-Wu, 2018. "Optimal trade credit and replenishment policies for supply chain network design," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 26-37.
    18. Mike Burkart & Tore Ellingsen, 2004. "In-Kind Finance: A Theory of Trade Credit," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(3), pages 569-590, June.
    19. Cristina Martínez-Sola & Pedro J. García-Teruel & Pedro Martínez-Solano, 2013. "Trade credit policy and firm value," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 53(3), pages 791-808, September.
    20. Jaleel Ahmed & Hui Xiaofeng & Shahid Kalim Khan, 2015. "Investigation of trade credit demand patterns in effect with firm-bank relationship: A panel data approach," Journal of Asian Business Strategy, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 5(3), pages 46-54, March.
    21. Cristina Martínez Sola & Pedro J. García-Teruel & Pedro Martínez Solano, 2012. "Trade credit policy and firm value," Working Papers. Serie EC 2012-01, Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Económicas, S.A. (Ivie).
    22. Cristina Martínez-Sola & Pedro García-Teruel & Pedro Martínez-Solano, 2014. "Trade credit and SME profitability," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 42(3), pages 561-577, March.
    23. Sonia Baños-Caballero & Pedro García-Teruel & Pedro Martínez-Solano, 2012. "How does working capital management affect the profitability of Spanish SMEs?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 39(2), pages 517-529, September.
    24. Olga Rodríguez-Rodríguez, 2006. "Trade Credit in Small and Medium Size Firms: An Application of the System Estimator With Panel Data," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 27(2), pages 103-126, October.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Trade credit; Late payments; Credit rationing;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E52 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Monetary Policy
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill

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