This paper examines the effectiveness of Japans Emergency Credit Guarantee (ECG) program set up during the financial turmoil following the failure of Lehman Brothers, in increasing credit availability and improving the ex-post performance of small businesses. In particular, using a unique...

This paper empirically examines the impact of Japan's debt forbearance policies with regard to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) stipulated in the “Act concerning Temporary Measures to Facilitate Financing for SMEs.” Using unique Japanese firm survey data that identify firms that...

We empirically examine firms’ myopic behaviors of inflating current earnings at the expense of long-term earnings by comparing Japanese listed with unlisted firms. We find that listed firms are more likely to engage in earnings management than unlisted firms. We also find that firms are more...