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Informal Sector and Economic Growth: The Supply of Credit Channel

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  • Massenot, Baptiste
  • Straub, Stéphane

Abstract

A standard view holds that removing barriers to entry and improving judicial enforcement would reduce informality and boost investment and growth. We show, however, that this conclusion may not hold in countries with a concentrated bank- ing sector or with low financial openness. When the formal sector becomes larger in those countries, more entrepreneurs become creditworthy and the higher pres- sure in the credit market increases the interest rate. This reduces future capital accumulation. We show some empirical evidence consistent with these predictions.

Suggested Citation

  • Massenot, Baptiste & Straub, Stéphane, 2011. "Informal Sector and Economic Growth: The Supply of Credit Channel," TSE Working Papers 11-254, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
    • Handle: RePEc:tse:wpaper:24946
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    Cited by:

    1. Ceyhun Elgin & Ferda Erturk, 2016. "Is Informality a Barrier to Convergence?," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 36(4), pages 2556-2568.
    2. Kerem Cantekin & Ceyhun Elgin, 2017. "Extent And Growth Effects Of Informality In Turkey: Evidence From A Firm-Level Survey," The Singapore Economic Review (SER), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 62(05), pages 1017-1037, December.
    3. Ceyhun Elgin & Burak Uras, 2013. "Is informality a barrier to financial development?," SERIEs: Journal of the Spanish Economic Association, Springer;Spanish Economic Association, vol. 4(3), pages 309-331, August.
    4. Serdar Birinci, 2013. "Trade openness, growth, and informality: Panel VAR evidence from OECD economies," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 33(1), pages 694-705.
    5. Elgin, Ceyhun & Uras, Burak R., 2014. "Homeownership, informality and the transmission of monetary policy," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 160-168.
    6. Ada Aliaj & Rovena Vangjel, 2023. "Financial Development and Its Impact on the Shadow Economy in Albania," Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, Richtmann Publishing Ltd, vol. 12, May.
    7. Nihal Bayraktar & Hippolyte Fofack, 2018. "A Model for Gender Analysis with Informal Production and Financial Sectors," Journal of African Development, African Finance and Economic Association (AFEA), vol. 20(2), pages 1-20.
    8. Salim Ergene, 2015. "Growth, inflation, interest rate and informality: Panel VAR evidence from OECD Economies," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 35(1), pages 750-763.
    9. Belal Fallah, 2014. "The Pros and Cons of Formalizing Informal MSES in the Palestinian Economy," Working Papers 893, Economic Research Forum, revised Dec 2014.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • O17 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements

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