IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/imf/imfwpa/2012-291.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

What Role Can Financial Policies Play in Revitalizing SMEs in Japan?

Author

Listed:
  • Mr. Waikei R Lam
  • Mr. Jongsoon Shin

Abstract

The paper discusses the role the financial sector can play in supporting growth in Japan. While overall credit conditions have been accommodative, credit growth has remained weak, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Firm-level SME data and sectoral corporate balance sheets show that many SMEs have faced structural challenges of high leverage and low profitability. Moreover, the global financial crisis has weakened the financial position across SMEs, particularly for those with low credit worthiness. These challenges are closely related to low availability of riskcapital and the pervasiveness of credit support measures. This paper argues that to encourage the supply of risk-based capital, costly government support measures should be phased out and SME restructuring be accelerated. Efforts are also needed to deepen capital markets to enhance risk capital availability and address regulatory barriers to starting businesses. In that regard, addressing SMEweaknesses would improve private investment, enhance firm productivity, and lift growth.

Suggested Citation

  • Mr. Waikei R Lam & Mr. Jongsoon Shin, 2012. "What Role Can Financial Policies Play in Revitalizing SMEs in Japan?," IMF Working Papers 2012/291, International Monetary Fund.
    • Handle: RePEc:imf:imfwpa:2012/291
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/cat/longres.aspx?sk=40157
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ricardo J. Caballero & Takeo Hoshi & Anil K. Kashyap, 2008. "Zombie Lending and Depressed Restructuring in Japan," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 98(5), pages 1943-1977, December.
    2. Ono, Arito & 小野, 有人 & Sakai, Koji & 坂井, 功治 & Uesugi, Iichiro & 植杉, 威一郎, 2008. "The Effects of Collateral on SME Performance in Japan," PIE/CIS Discussion Paper 401, Center for Intergenerational Studies, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
    3. Iichiro Uesugi, 2008. "Efficiency of Credit Allocation and Effectiveness of Government Credit Guarantees: Evidence from Japanese Small Businesses," Bank of Japan Working Paper Series 08-E-2, Bank of Japan.
    4. International Finance Corporation & World Bank, 2012. "Doing Business 2012 : Doing Business in a More Transparent World," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 5907.
    5. Thomas Laryea, 2010. "Approaches to Corporate Debt Restructuring in the Wake of Financial Crises," IMF Staff Position Notes 2010/002, International Monetary Fund.
    6. International Monetary Fund, 2006. "Republic of Korea: Selected Issues," IMF Staff Country Reports 2006/381, International Monetary Fund.
    7. International Monetary Fund, 2009. "Japan: Selected Issues," IMF Staff Country Reports 2009/211, International Monetary Fund.
    8. Uesugi, Iichiro & Sakai, Koji & Yamashiro, Guy M., 2010. "The Effectiveness of Public Credit Guarantees in the Japanese Loan Market," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 24(4), pages 457-480, December.
    9. International Monetary Fund, 2009. "Chad: Selected Issues," IMF Staff Country Reports 2009/067, International Monetary Fund.
    10. Mr. Ichiro Tokutsu & Mr. Kazuo Ogawa & Mika Saito, 2012. "Japan out of the Lost Decade: Divine Wind or Firms’ Effort?," IMF Working Papers 2012/171, International Monetary Fund.
    11. Schaede, Ulrike, 2005. "The "Middle-Risk Gap" and Financial System Reform: Small-Firm Financing in Japan," Monetary and Economic Studies, Institute for Monetary and Economic Studies, Bank of Japan, vol. 23(1), pages 149-176, February.
    12. Sakai, Koji & Uesugi, Iichiro & Watanabe, Tsutomu, 2010. "Firm age and the evolution of borrowing costs: Evidence from Japanese small firms," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(8), pages 1970-1981, August.
    13. KWON Hyeog Ug & NARITA Futoshi & NARITA Machiko, 2009. "Resource Reallocation and Zombie Lending in Japan in the '90s," Discussion papers 09052, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    14. Randall S. Jones & Masahiko Tsutsumi, 2009. "Financial Stability: Overcoming the Crisis and Improving the Efficiency of the Banking Sector," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 738, OECD Publishing.
    15. Arping, Stefan & Lóránth, Gyöngyi & Morrison, Alan D., 2010. "Public initiatives to support entrepreneurs: Credit guarantees versus co-funding," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 6(1), pages 26-35, April.
    16. Thomas Laryea, 2010. "Approaches to Corporate Debt Restructuring in the Wake of Financial Crises," IMF Staff Position Notes 2010/02, International Monetary Fund.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Mariana Colacelli & Emilio Fernández Corugedo, 2018. "Macroeconomic Effects of Japan’s Demographics: Can Structural Reforms Reverse Them?," IMF Working Papers 2018/248, International Monetary Fund.
    2. GOTO Yasuo & Scott WILBUR, 2017. "Efficiency among Japanese SMEs: In the context of the zombie firm hypothesis and firm size," Discussion papers 17123, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    3. Goto, Yasuo & Wilbur, Scott, 2019. "Unfinished business: Zombie firms among SME in Japan’s lost decades," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 105-112.
    4. Mr. Joong S Kang, 2014. "Balance Sheet Repair and Corporate Investment in Japan," IMF Working Papers 2014/141, International Monetary Fund.
    5. Mariana Colacelli & Mr. Gee Hee Hong, 2019. "Productivity Drag from Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Japan," IMF Working Papers 2019/137, International Monetary Fund.
    6. Randall Jones & Yosuke Jin, 2017. "Boosting productivity for inclusive growth in Japan," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 1414, OECD Publishing.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. International Monetary Fund, 2012. "Japan: Selected Issues," IMF Staff Country Reports 2012/209, International Monetary Fund.
    2. International Monetary Fund, 2012. "Japan: Financial Sector Assessment Program—Technical Note on Credit Intermediation," IMF Staff Country Reports 2012/262, International Monetary Fund.
    3. Kaoru Hosono & Miho Takizawa, 2012. "Do Financial Frictions Matter as a Source of Misallocation? Evidence from Japan," Discussion papers ron246, Policy Research Institute, Ministry of Finance Japan.
    4. HOSONO Kaoru & TAKIZAWA Miho, 2015. "Misallocation and Establishment Dynamics," Discussion papers 15011, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    5. Müge Adalet McGowan & Dan Andrews & Valentine Millot, 2017. "Insolvency regimes, zombie firms and capital reallocation," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 1399, OECD Publishing.
    6. Tsuruta Daisuke, 2010. "Do Financial Shocks Have Negative Effects on Small Businesses? New Evidence from Japan for the Late 1990s," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 10(1), pages 1-48, September.
    7. Imai, Masami, 2019. "Regulatory responses to banking crisis: Lessons from Japan," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 10-16.
    8. Nadège Jassaud & Mr. Kenneth H Kang, 2015. "A Strategy for Developing a Market for Nonperforming Loans in Italy," IMF Working Papers 2015/024, International Monetary Fund.
    9. De Veirman, Emmanuel & Levin, Andrew T., 2012. "When did firms become more different? Time-varying firm-specific volatility in Japan," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 578-601.
    10. Ogura, Yoshiaki & Okui, Ryo & Saito, Yukiko Umeno, 2015. "Network-Motivated Lending Decisions," HIT-REFINED Working Paper Series 29, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
    11. Philip R. Lane, 2011. "External Imbalances and Macroeconomic Policy in New Zealand," The Institute for International Integration Studies Discussion Paper Series iiisdp376, IIIS.
    12. Nakashima, Kiyotaka & Takahashi, Koji, 2020. "The time has come for banks to say goodbye: New evidence on bank roles and duration effects in relationship terminations," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    13. Philip R. Lane, 2013. "Growth And Adjustment Challenges For The Euro Area," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 44(2), pages 273-295.
    14. International Monetary Fund, 2015. "Bulgaria: Selected Issues Paper," IMF Staff Country Reports 2015/120, International Monetary Fund.
    15. Jose M Garrido, 2016. "Insolvency and Enforcement Reforms in Italy," IMF Working Papers 2016/134, International Monetary Fund.
    16. Dan Andrews & Filippos Petroulakis, 2017. "Breaking the Shackles: Zombie Firms, Weak Banks and Depressed Restructuring in Europe," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 1433, OECD Publishing.
    17. Mr. Chad Steinberg & Mr. Masato Nakane, 2011. "To Fire or to Hoard? Explaining Japan’s Labor Market Response in the Great Recession," IMF Working Papers 2011/015, International Monetary Fund.
    18. Uchida, Hirofumi & Miyakawa, Daisuke & Hosono, Kaoru & Ono, Arito & Uchino, Taisuke & Uesugi, Iichiro, 2015. "Financial shocks, bankruptcy, and natural selection," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 123-135.
    19. Karel Janda, 2011. "Credit Rationing and Public Support of Commercial Credit," CERGE-EI Working Papers wp436, The Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economics Institute, Prague.
    20. Karel Janda, 2011. "Credit Guarantees and Subsidies when Lender has a Market Power," Working Papers IES 2011/18, Charles University Prague, Faculty of Social Sciences, Institute of Economic Studies, revised Jun 2011.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:imf:imfwpa:2012/291. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Akshay Modi (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/imfffus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.