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Review of Financial Studies Vol. 23 No. 12 2010

Dollars Dollars Everywhere, Nor Any Dime to Lend: Credit Limit Constraints on Financial Sector Absorptive Capacity

Asim Ijaz Khwaja1,2; Atif Mian3; Bilal Zia4

1 Harvard University · 2 John F. Kennedy University · 3 University of California, Berkeley · 4 World Bank

open access

Abstract

We exploit an unexpected inflow of liquidity in an emerging market to study how capital is intermediated to firms. We find that backward-looking credit limit constraints imposed by banks make it difficult for firms to borrow, despite readily available bank liquidity, healthy aggregate demand, and a sharply falling cost of capital. The resulting aggregate failure to extend and retain capital in the economy suggests that agency costs that force banks to rely on sticky balance-sheet-based credit limits prevent emerging economies from effectively intermediating capital.

DOI
10.1093/rfs/hhq091
Volume
23
Issue
12
Pages
4281-4323
Language
en
Sources
openalex crossref

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