We provide a comprehensive review of firms' financing channels (internal and external, domestic and international) around the globe, with the focus on alternative finance — financing from all the non-market, non-bank external sources. We argue that while traditional financing channels,...

Financial crises have been pervasive phenomena throughout history. Bordo et al. (2001) find that their frequency in recent decades has been double that of the Bretton Woods Period (1945-1971) and the Gold Standard Era (1880-1993), comparable only to the Great Depression. Nevertheless, the...