When Do Enterprises Prefer Informal Credit?

This paper tests the hypothesis that enterprises may forgo formal finance in lieu of informal credit by choice. They do so to avoid the additional regulatory scrutiny and harassment that engaging with the formal financial sector invites. We test...

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Main Authors: Safavian, Mehnaz, Wimpey, Joshua
Format: Policy Research Working Paper
Language:English
Published: World Bank, Washington, DC 2012
Subjects:
Online Access:http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2007/11/8872634/enterprises-prefer-informal-credit
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/7597
id okr-10986-7597
recordtype oai_dc
spelling okr-10986-75972021-04-23T14:02:35Z When Do Enterprises Prefer Informal Credit? Safavian, Mehnaz Wimpey, Joshua ACCESS TO FINANCE ACCOUNTING ACCURATE INFORMATION ASSET VALUES BANK CREDIT BANK LOANS BANK OFFICIALS BANK POLICY BANK SUPERVISION BORROWER BORROWING BRIBE BRIBES BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT BUSINESS OPERATIONS BUSINESS PLANS BUSINESS REGISTRATION BUYER CAPITAL REQUIREMENTS CASH FLOW CHECKS COLLATERAL COLLATERAL REQUIREMENTS COMMERCIAL BANKS CORPORATE FINANCE CORRUPTION CREDIT MARKET CREDIT MARKETS CREDIT RATIONING CREDIT REPORTING CREDIT SOURCES CREDITOR CREDITORS CREDITWORTHINESS DEALING WITH BANKS DEFAULTS DEVELOPING COUNTRIES EARNINGS EMPLOYEE EMPLOYMENT EMPLOYMENT GROWTH ENDOWMENTS ENTERPRISE FINANCING ENTERPRISE OPERATIONS ENTERPRISE PERFORMANCE ENTERPRISE REGISTRATION EQUIPMENT EXTERNAL FINANCE FINANCIAL ACCESS FINANCIAL ANALYSIS FINANCIAL INFORMATION FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIES FINANCIAL MARKETS FINANCIAL PRODUCTS FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FINANCIAL STUDIES FINANCING CONSTRAINTS FINANCING SOURCES FORMAL FINANCE FORMAL FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIES FORMAL FINANCIAL MARKETS FORMAL FINANCIAL SECTOR FORMAL SECTOR LENDERS GOVERNMENT BANKS IMMOVABLE PROPERTY INCOME INCOME TAX INFORMAL CREDIT INFORMAL FINANCE INFORMAL FINANCING INFORMAL LENDERS INFORMAL SECTOR INFORMATION ASYMMETRIES INFORMATION SHARING INTEREST RATES INTERNATIONAL BANK LABOR FORCE LAND REGISTRATION LEGAL SYSTEM LEGISLATION LENDERS LENDING DECISIONS LOAN LOANS TO ENTERPRISES MONEYLENDER MONEYLENDERS PENALTIES PERMANENT EMPLOYEES POLITICAL ECONOMY PORTFOLIO PORTFOLIOS PRIVATE CREDIT PRIVATE SECTOR PRIVATE SECTOR DEVELOPMENT PROBABILITY PRODUCTIVITY PROFITABILITY PROPERTY RIGHTS PROPRIETORSHIP PUBLIC BANKS PURCHASES REGISTRATION PROCEDURES REGISTRY OFFICIALS REGULATION OF ENTRY REGULATORY AUTHORITIES REGULATORY BURDENS REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT REGULATORY SCRUTINY REPAYMENT REPAYMENT CAPACITY RETAINED EARNINGS RURAL CREDIT RURAL CREDIT MARKETS SALES SALES REVENUE SMALL ENTERPRISE SMALL ENTERPRISES SOCIAL SECURITY SOCIAL SECURITY CONTRIBUTIONS SOURCES OF CREDIT SOURCES OF FINANCE TAX ADMINISTRATION TAX BURDEN TAX COLLECTION TAX OBLIGATIONS TAX RATE TAX RATES TAXATION TRADE CREDIT TRADE CREDITOR TRADE CREDITORS TRANSPARENCY WORKING CAPITAL WORTH This paper tests the hypothesis that enterprises may forgo formal finance in lieu of informal credit by choice. They do so to avoid the additional regulatory scrutiny and harassment that engaging with the formal financial sector invites. We test this hypothesis using enterprise-level data on 3,564 enterprises in 29 countries. In this sample, enterprises finance approximately 57 percent of their working capital requirements with external finance. This external finance comes from formal sources, such as commercial banks (53 percent) and informal sources (42 percent), such as trade creditors, or family and friends. In our sample, 14 percent of enterprises rely exclusively on informal finance. We find that the likelihood of enterprises preferring to only use informal finance is inversely related to the quality of the regulatory environment, particularly the quality of tax administration and overall governance. For example, we find that when an enterprise has been asked for bribes by tax inspectors, it is 17 percent more likely to prefer informal finance. 2012-06-08T20:50:23Z 2012-06-08T20:50:23Z 2007-12 http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2007/11/8872634/enterprises-prefer-informal-credit http://hdl.handle.net/10986/7597 English Policy Research Working Paper; No. 4435 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/ World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper Publications & Research
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Foreign Institution
institution Digital Repositories
building World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection World Bank
language English
topic ACCESS TO FINANCE
ACCOUNTING
ACCURATE INFORMATION
ASSET VALUES
BANK CREDIT
BANK LOANS
BANK OFFICIALS
BANK POLICY
BANK SUPERVISION
BORROWER
BORROWING
BRIBE
BRIBES
BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
BUSINESS OPERATIONS
BUSINESS PLANS
BUSINESS REGISTRATION
BUYER
CAPITAL REQUIREMENTS
CASH FLOW
CHECKS
COLLATERAL
COLLATERAL REQUIREMENTS
COMMERCIAL BANKS
CORPORATE FINANCE
CORRUPTION
CREDIT MARKET
CREDIT MARKETS
CREDIT RATIONING
CREDIT REPORTING
CREDIT SOURCES
CREDITOR
CREDITORS
CREDITWORTHINESS
DEALING WITH BANKS
DEFAULTS
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
EARNINGS
EMPLOYEE
EMPLOYMENT
EMPLOYMENT GROWTH
ENDOWMENTS
ENTERPRISE FINANCING
ENTERPRISE OPERATIONS
ENTERPRISE PERFORMANCE
ENTERPRISE REGISTRATION
EQUIPMENT
EXTERNAL FINANCE
FINANCIAL ACCESS
FINANCIAL ANALYSIS
FINANCIAL INFORMATION
FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIES
FINANCIAL MARKETS
FINANCIAL PRODUCTS
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FINANCIAL STUDIES
FINANCING CONSTRAINTS
FINANCING SOURCES
FORMAL FINANCE
FORMAL FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIES
FORMAL FINANCIAL MARKETS
FORMAL FINANCIAL SECTOR
FORMAL SECTOR LENDERS
GOVERNMENT BANKS
IMMOVABLE PROPERTY
INCOME
INCOME TAX
INFORMAL CREDIT
INFORMAL FINANCE
INFORMAL FINANCING
INFORMAL LENDERS
INFORMAL SECTOR
INFORMATION ASYMMETRIES
INFORMATION SHARING
INTEREST RATES
INTERNATIONAL BANK
LABOR FORCE
LAND REGISTRATION
LEGAL SYSTEM
LEGISLATION
LENDERS
LENDING DECISIONS
LOAN
LOANS TO ENTERPRISES
MONEYLENDER
MONEYLENDERS
PENALTIES
PERMANENT EMPLOYEES
POLITICAL ECONOMY
PORTFOLIO
PORTFOLIOS
PRIVATE CREDIT
PRIVATE SECTOR
PRIVATE SECTOR DEVELOPMENT
PROBABILITY
PRODUCTIVITY
PROFITABILITY
PROPERTY RIGHTS
PROPRIETORSHIP
PUBLIC BANKS
PURCHASES
REGISTRATION PROCEDURES
REGISTRY OFFICIALS
REGULATION OF ENTRY
REGULATORY AUTHORITIES
REGULATORY BURDENS
REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT
REGULATORY SCRUTINY
REPAYMENT
REPAYMENT CAPACITY
RETAINED EARNINGS
RURAL CREDIT
RURAL CREDIT MARKETS
SALES
SALES REVENUE
SMALL ENTERPRISE
SMALL ENTERPRISES
SOCIAL SECURITY
SOCIAL SECURITY CONTRIBUTIONS
SOURCES OF CREDIT
SOURCES OF FINANCE
TAX ADMINISTRATION
TAX BURDEN
TAX COLLECTION
TAX OBLIGATIONS
TAX RATE
TAX RATES
TAXATION
TRADE CREDIT
TRADE CREDITOR
TRADE CREDITORS
TRANSPARENCY
WORKING CAPITAL
WORTH
spellingShingle ACCESS TO FINANCE
ACCOUNTING
ACCURATE INFORMATION
ASSET VALUES
BANK CREDIT
BANK LOANS
BANK OFFICIALS
BANK POLICY
BANK SUPERVISION
BORROWER
BORROWING
BRIBE
BRIBES
BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
BUSINESS OPERATIONS
BUSINESS PLANS
BUSINESS REGISTRATION
BUYER
CAPITAL REQUIREMENTS
CASH FLOW
CHECKS
COLLATERAL
COLLATERAL REQUIREMENTS
COMMERCIAL BANKS
CORPORATE FINANCE
CORRUPTION
CREDIT MARKET
CREDIT MARKETS
CREDIT RATIONING
CREDIT REPORTING
CREDIT SOURCES
CREDITOR
CREDITORS
CREDITWORTHINESS
DEALING WITH BANKS
DEFAULTS
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
EARNINGS
EMPLOYEE
EMPLOYMENT
EMPLOYMENT GROWTH
ENDOWMENTS
ENTERPRISE FINANCING
ENTERPRISE OPERATIONS
ENTERPRISE PERFORMANCE
ENTERPRISE REGISTRATION
EQUIPMENT
EXTERNAL FINANCE
FINANCIAL ACCESS
FINANCIAL ANALYSIS
FINANCIAL INFORMATION
FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIES
FINANCIAL MARKETS
FINANCIAL PRODUCTS
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FINANCIAL STUDIES
FINANCING CONSTRAINTS
FINANCING SOURCES
FORMAL FINANCE
FORMAL FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIES
FORMAL FINANCIAL MARKETS
FORMAL FINANCIAL SECTOR
FORMAL SECTOR LENDERS
GOVERNMENT BANKS
IMMOVABLE PROPERTY
INCOME
INCOME TAX
INFORMAL CREDIT
INFORMAL FINANCE
INFORMAL FINANCING
INFORMAL LENDERS
INFORMAL SECTOR
INFORMATION ASYMMETRIES
INFORMATION SHARING
INTEREST RATES
INTERNATIONAL BANK
LABOR FORCE
LAND REGISTRATION
LEGAL SYSTEM
LEGISLATION
LENDERS
LENDING DECISIONS
LOAN
LOANS TO ENTERPRISES
MONEYLENDER
MONEYLENDERS
PENALTIES
PERMANENT EMPLOYEES
POLITICAL ECONOMY
PORTFOLIO
PORTFOLIOS
PRIVATE CREDIT
PRIVATE SECTOR
PRIVATE SECTOR DEVELOPMENT
PROBABILITY
PRODUCTIVITY
PROFITABILITY
PROPERTY RIGHTS
PROPRIETORSHIP
PUBLIC BANKS
PURCHASES
REGISTRATION PROCEDURES
REGISTRY OFFICIALS
REGULATION OF ENTRY
REGULATORY AUTHORITIES
REGULATORY BURDENS
REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT
REGULATORY SCRUTINY
REPAYMENT
REPAYMENT CAPACITY
RETAINED EARNINGS
RURAL CREDIT
RURAL CREDIT MARKETS
SALES
SALES REVENUE
SMALL ENTERPRISE
SMALL ENTERPRISES
SOCIAL SECURITY
SOCIAL SECURITY CONTRIBUTIONS
SOURCES OF CREDIT
SOURCES OF FINANCE
TAX ADMINISTRATION
TAX BURDEN
TAX COLLECTION
TAX OBLIGATIONS
TAX RATE
TAX RATES
TAXATION
TRADE CREDIT
TRADE CREDITOR
TRADE CREDITORS
TRANSPARENCY
WORKING CAPITAL
WORTH
Safavian, Mehnaz
Wimpey, Joshua
When Do Enterprises Prefer Informal Credit?
relation Policy Research Working Paper; No. 4435
description This paper tests the hypothesis that enterprises may forgo formal finance in lieu of informal credit by choice. They do so to avoid the additional regulatory scrutiny and harassment that engaging with the formal financial sector invites. We test this hypothesis using enterprise-level data on 3,564 enterprises in 29 countries. In this sample, enterprises finance approximately 57 percent of their working capital requirements with external finance. This external finance comes from formal sources, such as commercial banks (53 percent) and informal sources (42 percent), such as trade creditors, or family and friends. In our sample, 14 percent of enterprises rely exclusively on informal finance. We find that the likelihood of enterprises preferring to only use informal finance is inversely related to the quality of the regulatory environment, particularly the quality of tax administration and overall governance. For example, we find that when an enterprise has been asked for bribes by tax inspectors, it is 17 percent more likely to prefer informal finance.
format Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper
author Safavian, Mehnaz
Wimpey, Joshua
author_facet Safavian, Mehnaz
Wimpey, Joshua
author_sort Safavian, Mehnaz
title When Do Enterprises Prefer Informal Credit?
title_short When Do Enterprises Prefer Informal Credit?
title_full When Do Enterprises Prefer Informal Credit?
title_fullStr When Do Enterprises Prefer Informal Credit?
title_full_unstemmed When Do Enterprises Prefer Informal Credit?
title_sort when do enterprises prefer informal credit?
publisher World Bank, Washington, DC
publishDate 2012
url http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2007/11/8872634/enterprises-prefer-informal-credit
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/7597
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