Publication: Funding vs. Real Economy Shock : The
Impact of the 2007-2009 Crisis on Small Firms' Credit
Availability
Loading...
Published
2012-04
ISSN
Date
2012-04-27
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
This paper analyzes the impact of two distinct shocks stemming from the cross-border transmission of the 2007-2009 crisis on credit availability for small firms. The paper uses data from AccessBank Azerbaijan which was affected in its liquidity position during the second and third quarters of 2008 by delays in its refinancing. The Azeri real economy was hit by the global crisis from the fourth quarter of 2008 onwards with a combined decline in oil prices, exports, remittances, and domestic demand. Therefore, a pure supply side shock con be contrasted with a real economy shock that hit exactly when the bank's funding position strengthened again. The paper finds that during the funding shock (potential) borrowers are discouraged from applying for loans. However, for those applications made, the likelihood of loan approval is not affected. The real economy shock, in contrast, reduces the approval likelihood for SME loans in particular, while agro and micro loans are considerably less affected. Finally, bank relationships increase credit availability in good as well as in bad times.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Berg, Gunhild; Kirschenmann, Karolin. 2012. Funding vs. Real Economy Shock : The
Impact of the 2007-2009 Crisis on Small Firms' Credit
Availability. Policy Research Working Paper ; No. 6030. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/6032 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Digital Object Identifier
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Publication The Macroeconomic Implications of Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation Options(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-05-29)Estimating the macroeconomic implications of climate change impacts and adaptation options is a topic of intense research. This paper presents a framework in the World Bank's macrostructural model to assess climate-related damages. This approach has been used in many Country Climate and Development Reports, a World Bank diagnostic that identifies priorities to ensure continued development in spite of climate change and climate policy objectives. The methodology captures a set of impact channels through which climate change affects the economy by (1) connecting a set of biophysical models to the macroeconomic model and (2) exploring a set of development and climate scenarios. The paper summarizes the results for five countries, highlighting the sources and magnitudes of their vulnerability --- with estimated gross domestic product losses in 2050 exceeding 10 percent of gross domestic product in some countries and scenarios, although only a small set of impact channels is included. The paper also presents estimates of the macroeconomic gains from sector-level adaptation interventions, considering their upfront costs and avoided climate impacts and finding significant net gross domestic product gains from adaptation opportunities identified in the Country Climate and Development Reports. Finally, the paper discusses the limits of current modeling approaches, and their complementarity with empirical approaches based on historical data series. The integrated modeling approach proposed in this paper can inform policymakers as they make proactive decisions on climate change adaptation and resilience.Publication South Africa’s Fragmented Cities: The Unequal Burden of Labor Market Frictions(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2026-01-08)Using high-resolution administrative, census, and satellite data, this paper shows that South African cities are characterized by spatial mismatches between where people live and where jobs are located, relative to 20 global peers. Areas within 5 kilometers of commercial centers have 9,300 fewer residents per square kilometer than expected, which is 60 percent below the global median. Poor, dense neighborhoods are most affected. In Johannesburg, a 10-percentile increase in distance from the nearest business hub corresponds to a 3.7-percentile drop in asset wealth (a proxy of household wellbeing) and 4.9-percentile drop in employment. In Cape Town, the declines are 4.0 and 3.7 percentiles, respectively. Employment is 87 percent lower in the poorest decile than the richest in Johannesburg and 61 percent lower in Cape Town. These findings suggest that South Africa’s spatial organization of people and economic activity constrains agglomeration and reinforces inequality. This methodology provides a scalable and standardized data-driven framework to analyze spatial accessibility and agglomeration frictions in complex, data-constrained urban systems.Publication The Evolution of Local Participatory Democracy in Nepal(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-11-05)Nepal is, according to its constitution, among the world’s most decentralized countries, with a long and complex tradition of local-level public participation. This paper traces the evolution of Nepal’s modern participatory institutions, examining the extent to which they are “induced” by external interventions versus being “organically” rooted in indigenous practices. The paper identifies three broad phases: an initial focus on participation in project implementation; a subsequent phase that expanded citizen engagement; and a third phase of citizen empowerment, culminating in the 2015 federal constitution, which granted unprecedented local autonomy. The analysis yields five key findings. First, over the past 50 years, successive reforms have progressively expanded opportunities for citizens to influence local decision-making. Second, these reforms have integrated traditional participatory mechanisms into formal institutions of local government. Third, although central-level initiatives exist, most participatory platforms continue to operate at the local level. Fourth, the federal constitution has created a new landscape of local democracy, embedding autonomy and accountability. Fifth, although they are still valued in many ethnic and territorial communities, traditional participatory practices are gradually disappearing. The paper concludes by offering policy recommendations to help donor agencies and governments strengthen Nepal’s democratic trajectory. It argues that effective interventions should build on Nepal’s deep participatory traditions while recognizing the constitutional reality of far-reaching local autonomy.Publication Institutional Capacity for Policy Implementation: An Analytical Framework(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2026-01-07)State capacity is an important prerequisite for policy implementation, yet at the country level it is difficult to measure, assess, and reform. This paper proposes a focus on institutional capacity: the ability of public institutions to implement the specific policy mandates for which they are responsible. Based on a review of existing literature, the paper defines the different dimensions that compose institutional capacity and groups them into two cross-cutting categories: organizational dimensions (personnel, financial resources, information systems, and management practices) and governance dimensions (transparency, independence, and accountability). The paper proposes measures for organizational and governance dimensions using existing data, shows intra-institutional variation of these measures within countries, and discusses how new data could be collected for better measurement of these concepts. Finally, the paper illustrates how the framework can be used to diagnose the sources of common problems related to weak policy implementation.Publication Closing the Gender Gap in Entrepreneurship: Overcoming Challenges in Law and Practice for Female Entrepreneurs(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2026-01-07)Despite significant strides toward gender equality, women around the world continue to encounter systemic obstacles that hinder their entrepreneurial success. This paper systematically reviews the literature on the barriers female entrepreneurs face and the solutions proposed to overcome these challenges. It discusses institutional factors, financial factors, human capital factors, and social and cultural factors. The literature overview is complemented by a series of stylized facts that illustrate how overcoming some of these existing barriers is correlated with improved women’s entrepreneurship and female labor force participation, drawing on the World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law database as well as the World Bank’s Enterprise Surveys. The findings underscore the need for creating an enabling environment where women can thrive as entrepreneurs.
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Cambodia : Study on Access to Financial Services for Small and Medium Agribusiness Enterprises in Cambodia(Washington, DC, 2013-11)Agriculture has been a mainstay of the Cambodian economy. It has seen significant growth throughout the 2000s and showed a significant resilience against external shocks during the 2008-09 economic and financial crises. Agribusiness enterprises do not operate in isolation from the rest of the economy. The state of production of agricultural raw materials, the state of the financial sector, and the nature of the financial sector's engagement with the real sector activities, as well as broader issues that affect private sector development all impact the development of the agribusiness sector. The current study seeks to analyze some of these linkages. It focuses specifically on the role the financial sector has played in the growth and development of the agribusiness sector. The study builds on the existing analytical work on agricultural and small and medium enterprise (SME) finance in Cambodia. The study was carried out in three major phases. The first phase was to determine a methodology to gather new information on linkages between agribusinesses and financial institutions. The second phase involved a survey of financial institutions (banks, microfinance institutions, and insurance companies) and 1,011 agribusinesses in Cambodia. The third phase emphasized analyzing the data and compiling a report that highlighted the key findings for the target audience. The report provides the broader context of the sector issues related to access to finance by agribusinesses, and review the available analytical work.Publication Financial Sector Policy Note : Financing Small and Medium-Sized Businesses in Burkina Faso(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2013-11)As in other Sub-Saharan African countries, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) represent the vast majority of firms operating in the private sector in Burkina Faso. Private sector-led growth is a major element of Burkina Faso's poverty reduction strategy, la strategie de croissance accelere et le developpement durable. Unfortunately, many characteristics of Burkina Faso's business environment, and of businesses themselves, make private sector-led growth a challenge. This financial sector policy note focuses on the market for credit and closely related financial services, how private banks are providing these services to SMEs, and recommendations that address problems they are having. This requires understanding the behavior of banks with respect to SME lending, particularly investment lending and related financial products like leasing, guarantees, microcredit, and subsidized credit funds. This policy note consists of a study and survey of commercial banks and two non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) (Burkina Bail and Societe Financiere de Garantie Interbancaire du Burkina (SOFIGIB) focusing on lending to SMEs. It focuses on the supply side of the market. The survey and accompanying interviews took place during the summer of 2013. Twelve private banks and five NBFIs were asked to participate in the study and survey. The study references two additional surveys focused on SMEs: (1) the 2009 World Bank enterprise survey, and (2) the 2012 survey of SMEs commissioned by the ministry of industry, trade, and artisans. The study consists of observations and analysis of survey data to provide input to policies for encouraging lending to SMEs and increasing the provision of other financial services. This report is structured as follows: executive summary; purpose and structure of policy note; macroeconomic context and the banking sector section provides a description of the situation in which Burkina Faso finds itself. Demand for SME finance section presents recent studies focused on the demand for credit by SMEs. Supply of SME finance section presents the results of the survey organized around the keys issues facing the provision of credit to SMEs. Enabling environment for financing SMEs section discusses salient characteristics of the business, legal, and regulatory environment that effect SME finance; recommendations; and conclusions.Publication Rural Banking(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2010-05)This case study describes the history and business model of the Rural and Community Bank (RCB) network in Ghana, analyzes its performance, identifies key issues, and makes recommendations on the way forward. The study analyzes the service delivery and financial performance of the RCBs. Before the establishment of RCBs in the late 1970s and the subsequent expansion of other service providers into rural areas, access to institutional credit for farm and nonfarm activities was scarce. The main sources of credit were moneylenders and traders that charged very high interest rates. In many rural communities, secure, safe, and convenient savings and payment facilities hardly existed. The first RCB was established in a farming community in the central region of Ghana in 1976. Rural communities showed tremendous interested in the community ownership and management features of RCBs, and by 1984 the number of RCBs reached 106. The introduction of a check payment system for cocoa farmers also spurred the establishment of local banks in many communities. The financial performance of many RCBs started to decline, however, for several reasons, including a drought that affected the country in 1983, weak governing ability, conflicts within boards of directors, and ineffective management in many RCBs. By the end of 2008, 127 RCBs were in operation with a total 584 service outlets. RCBs are regulated by Ghana's central bank, the Bank of Ghana, and thereby form part of the country's regulated financial sector. RCBs are the largest providers of formal financial services in rural areas and represent about half of the total banking outlets in Ghana.Publication Niger - Rural Financial Services : Expanding Financial Access to the Rural Poor(Washington, DC, 2011-12-22)The main objective of this study is to identify the major impediments to access to financial services in rural areas, and provide practical recommendations to address the identified problems. The study aims to inform on rural finance policies and innovative instruments by examining both supply and demand sides including an identification of non-financial issues that restrict development of the rural financial sector. Addressing the lack of rural access to financial services in the Niger development process continues to figure prominently on the Government agenda without, however, a systematic action plan and strategy. Adopting ad hoc solutions (such as the creation of an agricultural development bank) without addressing the structural issues that limit access to financial services will, unfortunately, not yield any positive long lasting results.Publication How Do Banks Serve SMEs? Business and Risk Management Models(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2008-06)This study describes the business and risk management practices that banks use to serve small and medium enterprises (SMEs). To do so, we use recently collected evidence from Argentina and Chile for a significant number of banks in each country, gathered through on-site meetings, a tabulated questionnaire, and a detailed data request. We find that banks are setting up separate departments to serve the segment, targeting many SMEs from all economic sectors and geographic regions. Banks use relationship managers to seek out new clients. Risk management and loan approval is separate from sales, mostly centralized, but not largely automated. Knowing the client is still crucial to minimize risks. Overall, the patterns we uncover suggest that banks are in the middle of an on-going learning process, by which they are developing the structure to deal with SMEs in a sustainable basis over the coming years.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Impact of Migration on Economic and Social Development : A Review of Evidence and Emerging Issues(2011-02-01)This paper provides a review of the literature on the development impact of migration and remittances on origin countries and on destination countries in the South. International migration is an ever-growing phenomenon that has important development implications for both sending and receiving countries. For a sending country, migration and the resulting remittances lead to increased incomes and poverty reduction, and improved health and educational outcomes, and promote economic development. Yet these gains might come at substantial social costs to the migrants and their families. Since many developing countries are also large recipients of international migrants, they face challenges of integration of immigrants, job competition between migrant and native workers, and fiscal costs associated with provision of social services to the migrants. This paper also summarizes incipient discussions on the impacts of migration on climate change, democratic values, demographics, national identity, and security. In conclusion, the paper highlights a few policy recommendations calling for better integration of migration in development policies in the South and the North, improving data collection on migration and remittance flows, leveraging remittances for improving access to finance of recipient households and countries, improving recruitment mechanisms, and facilitating international labor mobility through safe and legal channels.Publication Digital Africa(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-03-13)All African countries need better and more jobs for their growing populations. "Digital Africa: Technological Transformation for Jobs" shows that broader use of productivity-enhancing, digital technologies by enterprises and households is imperative to generate such jobs, including for lower-skilled people. At the same time, it can support not only countries’ short-term objective of postpandemic economic recovery but also their vision of economic transformation with more inclusive growth. These outcomes are not automatic, however. Mobile internet availability has increased throughout the continent in recent years, but Africa’s uptake gap is the highest in the world. Areas with at least 3G mobile internet service now cover 84 percent of Africa’s population, but only 22 percent uses such services. And the average African business lags in the use of smartphones and computers as well as more sophisticated digital technologies that catalyze further productivity gains. Two issues explain the usage gap: affordability of these new technologies and willingness to use them. For the 40 percent of Africans below the extreme poverty line, mobile data plans alone would cost one-third of their incomes—in addition to the price of access devices, apps, and electricity. Data plans for small- and medium-size businesses are also more expensive than in other regions. Moreover, shortcomings in the quality of internet services—and in the supply of attractive, skills-appropriate apps that promote entrepreneurship and raise earnings—dampen people’s willingness to use them. For those countries already using these technologies, the development payoffs are significant. New empirical studies for this report add to the rapidly growing evidence that mobile internet availability directly raises enterprise productivity, increases jobs, and reduces poverty throughout Africa. To realize these and other benefits more widely, Africa’s countries must implement complementary and mutually reinforcing policies to strengthen both consumers’ ability to pay and willingness to use digital technologies. These interventions must prioritize productive use to generate large numbers of inclusive jobs in a region poised to benefit from a massive, youthful workforce—one projected to become the world’s largest by the end of this century.Publication MIGA Annual Report 2013 : Insuring Investments, Ensuring Opportunities(Washington, DC: World Bank Group, 2013-10-11)In fiscal year 2013, Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) issued 2.8 billion dollars in investment guarantees for projects in our developing member countries. At 1.5 billion dollars, representing more than half of new business, the bulk of MIGA's guarantees issued support investments in Sub-Saharan Africa. Sixty-nine percent of new business volume this year was in complex projects in infrastructure and extractive industries, a strategic priority for the Agency. This year, 82 percent of MIGA's new volume fell into one or more of strategic priority areas: investments in the world's poorest countries, "South-South" investments, investments in conflict-affected countries, and investments in complex projects. MIGA also established the conflict-affected and fragile economies facility to further deepen support to this priority area.Publication Monetary Policy Strategies for Latin America(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2001-10)The authors examine possible monetary policy strategies for Latin America that may help lock in the gains the region attained in the fight against inflation in the 1990s. Instead of focusing the debate about the conduct of monetary policy on whether the nominal exchange rate should be fixed or flexible, the focus should be on whether the monetary policy regime appropriately constrains discretion in monetary policymaking. Three basic frameworks deserve serious discussion as possible long-run strategies for monetary policy in Latin America. The authors examine the advantages and disadvantages of a hard exchange-rate peg, monetary targeting, and inflation targeting, in light of monetary policy's recent track record in several Latin American countries, looking for clues about which of the strategies might be best suited to economies in the region. The answer: It depends on the country's institutional environment. Some countries appear not to have the institutions to constrain monetary policy if discretion is allowed. In those countries, there is a strong argument for hard pegs, including full dollarization, that allow little or no discretion to monetary authorities. In countries such as Chile, which can constrain discretion, inflation targeting is likely to produce a monetary policy that keeps inflation low yet appropriately copes with domestic and foreign shocks. Monetary targeting as a strategy for Latin America is not viable because of the likely instability of the relationship between inflation and monetary aggregates, of which there is ample international evidence. No monetary strategy can solve the basic problems that have existed in Latin American economies for a long time. The authors welcome the recent move in Latin American countries toward inflation targeting, but say no policy will succeed unless government policies also create the right institutional environment.Publication The Role of Social Ties in Factor Allocation(Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the World Bank, 2019-10)We investigate whether social structure helps or hinders factor allocation using unusually rich data from the Gambia. Evidence indicates that land available for cultivation is allocated unequally across households; and that factor transfers are more common between neighbors, co-ethnics, and kinship-related households. Does this lead to the conclusion that land inequality is due to flows of land between households being impeded by social divisions? To answer this question, a novel methodology that approaches exhaustive data on dyadic flows from an aggregate point of view is introduced. Land transfers lead to a more equal distribution of land and to more comparable factor ratios across households in general. But equalizing transfers of land are not more likely within ethnic or kinship groups. In conclusion, ethnic and kinship divisions do not hinder land and labor transfers in a way that contributes to aggregate factor inequality. Labor transfers do not equilibrate factor ratios across households. But it cannot be ruled out that they serve a beneficial role, for example, to deal with unanticipated health shocks.