Razionamento del credito e dimensioni di impresa (Credit rationing and firm size)

Abstract

This paper examines the likelihood of credit rationing faced by firms of dif­ferent size. Cantrary to common thought, several recent contributions on this topic argue that, when rationing credit, size alone is not a sufficient con­dition for discriminating between firms. We show that this result can be predicted using a framework based on the Stiglitz-Weiss model. In particular, in an environment of asymmetric information, we highlight how the likeli­hood of credit rationing depends upon the shape of the,distribution function of project returns, especially its asymmetry and Kurtosis. Our empirical re­sults do not support the hypothesis that small firms face more credit ration­ing than larger firms. JEL Codes: D82, G21

Keywords

• Credit rationing
• firm discrimination
• Stiglitz-Wiess model