Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/154010 
Year of Publication: 
2013
Series/Report no.: 
ECB Working Paper No. 1577
Publisher: 
European Central Bank (ECB), Frankfurt a. M.
Abstract: 
This paper uses a non parametric matching procedure to match survey replies to balance sheet information. It draws on the SAFE survey on access to finance for a sample of 11886 firms in the euro area which are matched with their nearest neighbour in an extended dataset with balance sheet information on 2.3 million firms. We investigate the role of rm characteristics with respect to the experience of facing financing obstacles in the period 2009-2011. We distinguish between firms' perceived financing constraints and actual financing constraints. We find that more pro table firms are less likely to face actual financing constraints. Also firms with more working capital and lower leverage ratios are less likely to be actually financially constrained, however profitability measures seem to be more robust. Firms are more likely to perceive access to finance problematic when they have more debt with short term maturity. Finally, rm age, but not size, is important in explaining both the perceived and the actual financial constraints.
Subjects: 
financial constraints
SMEs
statistical matching of data
survey data
JEL: 
E22
G30
G10
O16
K40
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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