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Debt Overhang and Barter in Russia

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Author Info
Sergei Guriev
Igor Makarov
Mathilde Maurel

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Abstract

In this paper we study, both theoretically and empirically, the relationship between barter and the indebtedness of Russian firms. We build a model in which a firm uses barter to protect its working capital against outside creditors even when barter involves high transaction costs. The main innovation of our work is to allow renegotiation between the firm and its creditors. If the creditors are rational, they often agree to postpone debt payments in order to avoid destroying the firm's working capital. It turns out, however, that even if the firm cannot ensure it will not divert cash ex post, the outcome of renegotiation still provides ex ante incentives to use barter. We show that the greater the debt overhang, the more likely the use of barter, and although the possibility of debt restructuring reduces barter, it does not eliminate it altogether. We also discuss the role of the government bond market and weak bankruptcy legislation. The firm-level evidence is consistent with the model's predictions.

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Paper provided by William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross Business School in its series William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series with number 339.

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Date of creation: 01 Sep 2000
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Handle: RePEc:wdi:papers:2000-339

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Related research
Keywords: barter; demonetisation; debt overhang; renegotiations;

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Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Wendy Carlin & Steven Fries & Mark Schaffer & Paul Seabright, 2000. "Barter and Non-Monetary Transactions in Transition Economies: Evidence from a Cross-Country Survey," CERT Discussion Papers 0004, Centre for Economic Reform and Transformation, Heriot Watt University. [Downloadable!]
  2. Katharina Pistor & Martin Raiser & Stanislaw Gelfer, 2000. "Law and Finance in Transition Economies," CID Working Papers 49, Center for International Development at Harvard University. [Downloadable!]
  3. Krugman, Paul, 1988. "Financing vs. forgiving a debt overhang," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(3), pages 253-268, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  4. E.C. Perotti & O. Carare, 1997. "The Evolution of Bank Credit Quality in Transition: Theory and Evidence from Romania," CERT Discussion Papers 9702, Centre for Economic Reform and Transformation, Heriot Watt University. [Downloadable!]
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  5. Stewart C. Myers & Raghuram G. Rajan, 1998. "The Paradox Of Liquidity," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 113(3), pages 733-771, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  6. Guriev, Sergei & Kvassov, Dmitry, 2000. "Barter For Price Discrimination?," CEPR Discussion Papers 2449, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  7. Clifford Gaddy & Barry W. Ickes, 1998. "To Restructure or Not to Restructure: Informal Activities and Enterprise Behavior in Transition," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series 134, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross Business School. [Downloadable!]
  8. Brana, S. & Maurel, M., 1999. "Barter in Russia : Liquidity Shortage Versus Lack of Restructuring," Papiers d'Economie Mathématique et Applications 1999.98, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris 1).
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  9. Katharina Pistor & Martin Raiser & Stanislaw Gelfer, 2000. "Law and Finance in Transition Economies," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 8(2), pages 325-368, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Berglof, Erik & Roland, Gerard, 1998. "Soft Budget Constraints and Banking in Transition Economies," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 18-40, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Dalia Marin & Monika Schnitzer, 1999. "Disorganization and Financial Collapse," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series 285, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross Business School. [Downloadable!]
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  12. Susan J. Linz & Gary Krueger, 1998. "Enterprise Restructuring in Russia's Transition Economy: Formal and Informal Mechanisms," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series 152, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross Business School. [Downloadable!]
  13. Earle, John S. & Sabirianova, Klara Z., 2000. "Equilibrium Wage Arrears: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis of Institutional Lock-In," IZA Discussion Papers 196, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Agapov Stanislav & Boyarchenko Svetlana & Levendorsky Sergey, 2003. "A Three-Sector Model of the Russian Virtual Economy," EERC Working Paper Series 02-06e, EERC Research Network, Russia and CIS. [Downloadable!]
  2. Vlad Ivanenko, 2004. "Access to liquidity and non-monetary trade in Russia," Post-Communist Economies, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 16(1), pages 21-38, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Richard B. Goud Jr., 2002. "Inter-Firm Non-Monetary Transactions in Russia: A Literature Review," Development and Comp Systems 0207001, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
  4. Vlad Ivanenko & Dmitry Mikheyev, 2002. "The Role of Non-monetary Trade in Russian Transition," Post-Communist Economies, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 14(4), pages 405-419, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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