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The Impact of the Financial System's Structure on Firms' Financial Constraints

Author

Listed:
  • Christopher F. Baum

    (Boston College
    DIW Berlin)

  • Dorothea Schäfer

    (DIW Berlin)

  • Oleksandr Talavera

    (University of East Anglia)

Abstract

We estimate firms' cash flow sensitivity of cash to empirically test how the financial system's structure and activity level influence their financial constraints. For this purpose we merge Almeida et al. (2004), a path-breaking new design for evaluating a firm's financial constraints, with Levine (2002), who paved the way for comparative analysis of financial systems around the world. We conjecture that a country's financial system, both in terms of its structure and its level of development, influences the cash flow sensitivity of cash of constrained firms but leaves unconstrained firms unaffected. We test our hypothesis with a large international sample of 80,000 firm-years from 1989 to 2006. Our findings reveal that both the structure of the financial system and its level of development matter. Bank-based financial systems provide the constrained firms with easier access to external financing.

Suggested Citation

  • Christopher F. Baum & Dorothea Schäfer & Oleksandr Talavera, 2008. "The Impact of the Financial System's Structure on Firms' Financial Constraints," Boston College Working Papers in Economics 690, Boston College Department of Economics, revised 03 Sep 2010.
    • Handle: RePEc:boc:bocoec:690
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    financial constraints; financial structure; financial development; cash flow sensitivity of cash;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General

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