Financial Liberalization, Credit Constraints, and Collateral

Download or read book Financial Liberalization, Credit Constraints, and Collateral written by Mr.R. Gelos and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 1999-03-01 with total page 42 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper examines the impact of financial liberalization on fixed investment in Mexico, using establishment-level data from the manufacturing sector. It analyzes changes in cash-flow sensitivities and uses an innovative approach to explore the role of real estate as collateral and deal with a potential censoring problem. The results suggest that financial constraints were eased for small firms but not for large ones. However, banks’ reliance on collateral in their lending operations increased the importance of real estate. The results provide microeconomic evidence consistent with the role attributed to “financial accelerator” mechanisms during lending booms and during recessions that stem from financial crises.