Informal Financial Networks: Theory and Evidence

51 Pages Posted: 4 Apr 2002 Last revised: 2 Oct 2022

See all articles by Mark J. Garmaise

Mark J. Garmaise

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - Anderson School of Management

Tobias J. Moskowitz

AQR Capital; Yale University, Yale SOM; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Date Written: April 2002

Abstract

We develop a model of informal financial networks and present corroborating evidence by studying the role of professional property brokers in the U.S. commercial real estate market. Our model demonstrates how service intermediaries, who do not supply finance themselves, can facilitate their clients' access to finance via repeated informal relationships with lenders. Empirically, we find that, controlling for endogenous broker selection, hiring a broker strikingly increases the probability of obtaining a bank loan from 40 to 58 percent. Our results demonstrate that even in the U.S., with its well-developed capital markets, informal networks play an important role in controlling access to finance.

Suggested Citation

Garmaise, Mark J. and Moskowitz, Tobias J. and Moskowitz, Tobias J., Informal Financial Networks: Theory and Evidence (April 2002). NBER Working Paper No. w8874, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=306408

Mark J. Garmaise

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - Anderson School of Management ( email )

110 Westwood Plaza
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1481
United States

Tobias J. Moskowitz (Contact Author)

Yale University, Yale SOM ( email )

493 College St
New Haven, CT CT 06520
United States

HOME PAGE: http://som.yale.edu/tobias-j-moskowitz

AQR Capital ( email )

Greenwich, CT
United States

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

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