Price- vs. Quantity-Based Monetary Policies and Credit Substitution Asymmetry

The literature on the informal credit channels of the transmission of monetary policy overlooks the distinction between price- and quantity-based policies. This article contributes to filling this gap by investigating the asymmetric effects of the two types of policies on trade-credit substitution for bank credit using data from the largest emerging economy, China. China presents an ideal experimental context, as the country has implemented both types of monetary policies in the past decades. We find strong evidence that quantity-based monetary policy has stronger effects on credit substitution in China. This evidence is robust under both static and dynamic specifications, which remains intact after the disentanglement of the interdependency of the two types of policies. By subgrouping, we find that large and state-controlled firms play the central role in creating the substitution asymmetry. Furthermore, international evidence indicates that India also witnesses substitution asymmetry skewed to quantity-based policies. The findings suggest the need for further reform of China’s financial system toward a market-based system to enhance the effectiveness of the proposed monetary policies.