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Resolving financial distress where property rights are not clearly defined: The case of China

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  • Franks, Julian R.
  • Miao, Meng
  • Sussman, Oren

Abstract

We use data on financially distressed Chinese companies in order to study a debt market where property rights are crudely defined and poorly enforced. To help with identification we use an event where a business-friendly province published new guidelines regarding the administration and enforcement of assets pledged as collateral. Although by no means a comprehensive reform of bankruptcy law or property rights, by instructing courts to enforce existing, albeit rudimentary, contractual rights the new guidelines virtually eliminated creditors runs and produced a sharp increase in the survival rate of financially-distressed companies. These changes illustrate how piecemeal reforms of property rights and their enforcement may have a significant impact on economic outcomes. Our analysis and results challenge the view that a fully fledged system of private property is a precondition for economic development.

Suggested Citation

  • Franks, Julian R. & Miao, Meng & Sussman, Oren, 2022. "Resolving financial distress where property rights are not clearly defined: The case of China," LawFin Working Paper Series 49, Goethe University, Center for Advanced Studies on the Foundations of Law and Finance (LawFin).
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:lawfin:49
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Finance and development; property rights; financial distress; creditors runs;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • G23 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Non-bank Financial Institutions; Financial Instruments; Institutional Investors
    • G33 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Bankruptcy; Liquidation
    • N25 - Economic History - - Financial Markets and Institutions - - - Asia including Middle East
    • O43 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Institutions and Growth
    • P48 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Other Economic Systems - - - Legal Institutions; Property Rights; Natural Resources; Energy; Environment; Regional Studies

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