One of the major lenders to small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) is nonbank financial institutions. Unlike deposit-taking banks, nonbank financial institutions - those that do not take deposits - tend to charge high interest rates, instead of asking for collateral, in extending credit to...

This paper summarizes the results of two questionnaires presented to small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) by RIETI in February 2008 and February 2009. Given the limited data on SMEs, the purpose of the questionnaires is to understand the current status of financing for SMEs facing this...

Using the extensive microdata of the Credit Risk Database (CRD), established in 2001 by the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), in this paper we analyze the determinants for the life duration until legal bankruptcy of small and medium-size...

This paper empirically examines the impact of board diversity on firms' innovative activity, taking advantage of the unique firm-level dataset in the period 2000-2011 in Japan. We constructed measurements of the degree of board diversity by using various characteristics of board members such as...

Studies on the globalization of firm activities have been progressing rapidly, but empirical studies on service trade using firm level data have been scarce. This paper, using panel data for Japanese firms, analyzes the relationship between service trade and firm characteristics such as...

We investigate the parts transactions between finished auto manufacturers and first tier parts suppliers in Japan from 1989 to 2010. Our main results are as follows:- The density of transaction networks has grown throughout the investigated period. In the 2000s, it was due mainly to suppliers...

Market openness improves the efficiency of business operations through various channels, and firms' usage of imported intermediate goods is one of such conduits. This paper empirically examines the effects of import of intermediates on Japanese manufacturers' productivity and profitability by...

In this paper, we examine whether consumption is in response to the change of expectations of income in urban China, namely, testing for excess sensitivity of consumption using subjective income expectations from the panel "Survey of Living Preferences and Satisfaction," conducted at Osaka...

In this paper, we investigate the causes and impacts of the recent changes in the inter-firm business relationships in the Japanese automobile industry from 1994-2010. Our main results are the following: First, we find that buyer-supplier relationships in the automobile industry in Japan have...

To elucidate the relationship between the great trade collapse of 2008-09 and financial shocks, existing literature has focused on the channel of trade credit. Because exporting activities are more working-capital dependent than domestic sales, firms may reduce their exports when their banks'...