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When do enterprises prefer informal credit ?

Author

Listed:
  • Safavian, Mehnaz
  • Wimpey, Joshua

Abstract

This paper tests the hypothesis that enterprises may forgo formal finance in lieu of informal credit by choice. They do so to avoid the additional regulatory scrutiny and harassment that engaging with the formal financial sector invites. We test this hypothesis using enterprise-level data on 3,564 enterprises in 29 countries. In this sample, enterprises finance approximately 57 percent of their working capital requirements with external finance. This external finance comes from formal sources, such as commercial banks (53 percent) and informal sources (42 percent), such as trade creditors, or family and friends. In our sample, 14 percent of enterprises rely exclusively on informal finance. We find that the likelihood of enterprises preferring to only use informal finance is inversely related to the quality of the regulatory environment, particularly the quality of tax administration and overall governance. For example, we find that when an enterprise has been asked for bribes by tax inspectors, it is 17 percent more likely to prefer informal finance.

Suggested Citation

  • Safavian, Mehnaz & Wimpey, Joshua, 2007. "When do enterprises prefer informal credit ?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4435, The World Bank.
  • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:4435
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Finkelstein-Shapiro, Alan & Sarzosa, Miguel, 2012. "Unemployement Protection for Informal Workers in Latin America and the Caribbean," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 4542, Inter-American Development Bank.
    2. Bhavani, T.A. & Bhanumurthy, N.R., 2014. "Financial Access - Measurement and Determinants: A Case Study of Unorganised Manufacturing Enterprises in India," Indian Economic Review, Department of Economics, Delhi School of Economics, vol. 49(1), pages 85-108.
    3. Dorothée Boccanfuso & Jonathan Goyette & Cho Euphrasie Monique ANGBO, 2014. "Constraints to women’s entrepreneurship and welfare in developing countries," EcoMod2014 6844, EcoMod.
    4. Ms. Junko Koeda & Ms. Era Dabla-Norris, 2008. "Informality and Bank Credit: Evidence from Firm-Level Data," IMF Working Papers 2008/094, International Monetary Fund.
    5. Rajlakshmi Mallik, 2015. "Being Credit Rationed: Delay and Transaction Cost," International Game Theory Review (IGTR), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 17(02), pages 1-28.
    6. repec:aly:journl:201711 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Nguyen, Nhung & Luu, Nhung, 2013. "Determinants of Financing Pattern and Access to Formal -Informal Credit: The Case of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises in Viet Nam," MPRA Paper 81868, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised May 2013.
    8. Figueroa, Camila & Iberti, Gonzalo & Riutort, Julio & Wagner, Rodrigo, 2023. "Do firms that state they are financially constrained tend to reinvest more of their profits?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    9. Valdivia Coria, Joab Dan, 2023. "Discriminación salarial de género, efectos en la política monetaria y fluctuación cíclica del producto [Gender pay gap, effects on monetary policy and cyclical output fluctuation]," MPRA Paper 116271, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Faisal Buyinza & John Mutenyo & Anthony Tibaingana, 2018. "Factors Affecting Access to Formal Credit by Micro and Small Enterprises in Uganda," Athens Journal of Business & Economics, Athens Institute for Education and Research (ATINER), vol. 4(4), pages 405-424, October.
    11. Anna Watson, 2019. "Financial Frictions, the Great Trade Collapse and International Trade over the Business Cycle," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 30(1), pages 19-64, February.
    12. Nguyen, Thi Nhung & Gan, Christopher & Hu, Baiding, 2015. "An empirical analysis of credit accessibility of small and medium sized enterprises in Vietnam," MPRA Paper 81911, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2015.

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    Keywords

    Access to Finance; Banks&Banking Reform; Debt Markets; Small and Medium Size Enterprises;
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