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The Missing Link Between Financial Constraints and Productivity

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  • Marialuz Moreno Badia
  • Veerle Slootmaekers

Abstract

This paper provides new evidence on the link between finance and firm-level productivity focusing on the case of Estonia. We contribute to the literature in two important respects: (1) we look explicitly at the role of financial constraints; and (2) we develop a methodology that corrects for the misspecification problems of previous studies. Our results indicate that young and highly indebted firms tend to be more financially constrained. Overall, a large number of firms shows some degree of financial constraints, with firms in the primary sector being the most constrained. More importantly, we find that financial constraints do not lower productivity for most sectors with the exception of R&D, where the dampening effect of financial constraints on productivity is remarkably large. These results are robust to a variety of sensitivity tests.

Suggested Citation

  • Marialuz Moreno Badia & Veerle Slootmaekers, 2008. "The Missing Link Between Financial Constraints and Productivity," LICOS Discussion Papers 20808, LICOS - Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance, KU Leuven.
    • Handle: RePEc:lic:licosd:20808
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    Cited by:

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    2. Anna M. Ferragina & Fernanda Mazzotta & Khalid Sekkat, 2016. "Financial constraints and productivity growth across the size spectrum: microeconomic evidence from Morocco," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 6(3), pages 361-381, December.
    3. Veerle Miranda & Marialuz Moreno Badia & Ilke Van Beveren, 2012. "Globalization drives strategic product switching," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 148(1), pages 45-72, April.
    4. Ayadi, Rym & De Groen, Willem Pieter, 2014. "Micro-, Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises with High-Growth Potential in the Southern Mediterranean: Identifying Obstacles and Policy Responses," CEPS Papers 8796, Centre for European Policy Studies.
    5. Minjia Chen & Alessandra Guariglia, 2011. "Financial constraints and firm productivity in China: do liquidity and export behavior make a difference?," Discussion Papers 11/09, University of Nottingham, GEP.
    6. Georgios A. Savvakis & Dimitris Kenourgios & Theofanis Papageorgiou, 2021. "To EMU or not to EMU: Can TFP “provoke” the capital structure puzzle of SMEs?," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(2), pages 2595-2611, April.
    7. Zijian Cheng & Zhangxin (Frank) Liu & Yupu Sun, 2021. "Share pledging and financial constraints in China," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 61(3), pages 4147-4189, September.
    8. Mai Anh NGO, 2015. "Exporting and Firm-Level Credit Constraints-Evidence from Ghana," Working Papers DP-2015-27, Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA).
    9. Annalisa Ferrando & Alessandro Ruggieri, 2018. "Financial constraints and productivity: Evidence from euro area companies," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 23(3), pages 257-282, July.
    10. Mari Avarmaa & Aaro Hazak & Kadri Männasoo, 2013. "Does leverage affect labour productivity? A comparative study of local and multinational companies of the Baltic countries," Journal of Business Economics and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(2), pages 252-275, April.
    11. Panagiota Papadimitri & Fotios Pasiouras & Menelaos Tasiou, 2021. "Do National Differences in Social Capital and Corporate Ethical Behaviour Perceptions Influence the Use of Collateral? Cross-Country Evidence," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 172(4), pages 765-784, September.
    12. Hui Wang & Qing Wang & Xia Sheng, 2021. "Does Corporate Financialization Have a Non-Linear Impact on Sustainable Total Factor Productivity? Perspectives of Cash Holdings and Technical Innovation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-17, February.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    financing constraints; productivity; SMEs;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • O16 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Financial Markets; Saving and Capital Investment; Corporate Finance and Governance
    • P27 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist and Transition Economies - - - Performance and Prospects

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