Firm Exports and Multinational Activity Under Credit Constraints

38 Pages Posted: 28 Mar 2011 Last revised: 12 Mar 2023

See all articles by Kalina Manova

Kalina Manova

University College London - Department of Economics

Shang-Jin Wei

Columbia University - Columbia Business School, Finance; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

Zhiwei Zhang

International Monetary Fund (on leave); Nomura Holdings, Inc. (NHI) - Nomura Securities Co., Ltd.

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Date Written: March 2011

Abstract

This paper provides firm-level evidence that credit constraints restrict international trade flows and affect the sectoral pattern of multinational activity. Using detailed customs data from China, we show that foreign affiliates and joint ventures have better export performance than private domestic firms in financially more vulnerable sectors. These results are stronger for destinations with higher trade costs and not driven by variation in firm size or by other sector determinants of FDI. Our findings are consistent with multinational subsidiaries being less liquidity constrained because they can tap additional funding from their parent company and/or access foreign capital markets. More broadly, they suggest that FDI can alleviate the impact of domestic financial market imperfections on aggregate growth, trade and private sector development.

Suggested Citation

Manova, Kalina B. and Wei, Shang-Jin and Zhang, Zhiwei and Zhang, Zhiwei, Firm Exports and Multinational Activity Under Credit Constraints (March 2011). NBER Working Paper No. w16905, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1795854

Kalina B. Manova (Contact Author)

University College London - Department of Economics ( email )

Drayton House, 30 Gordon Street
30 Gordon Street
London, WC1H 0AX
United Kingdom

Shang-Jin Wei

Columbia University - Columbia Business School, Finance ( email )

3022 Broadway
New York, NY 10027
United States

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

London
United Kingdom

Zhiwei Zhang

International Monetary Fund (on leave) ( email )

700 19th Street N.W.
Washington, DC 20431
United States

Nomura Holdings, Inc. (NHI) - Nomura Securities Co., Ltd. ( email )

Hong Kong
Japan

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