Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/322313 
Year of Publication: 
2025
Series/Report no.: 
NBB Working Paper No. 472
Publisher: 
National Bank of Belgium, Brussels
Abstract: 
Past research shows that firms with constrained access to debt are more likely to withdraw from exporting. We argue that a firm's debt maturity structure (i.e., the short-term/long-term debt mix) also matters because short-term debt entails liquidity risk and long-term debt entails higher costs. Using a database on Belgian start-ups, we find that start-ups relying mainly on either short-term debt or long-term debt exhibit a higher likelihood to withdraw from exporting compared to start-ups with a more balanced debt maturity structure. This U-shaped relationship is weaker for start-ups with more financial slack and stronger for start-ups with higher growth opportunities.
Subjects: 
Complete export withdrawal
start-ups
debt maturity
financial slack
growth opportunities
JEL: 
G32
L26
M13
M16
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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