The Economics of SME Finance

This is the first book in English that uses multiple data sources to comprehensively examine issues related to small and medium enterprise (SME) finance in Japan. The first feature of the book is that it empirically examines issues that are important not only for Japan but also for other countries. These issues include zombie firms, the expansion of the bank lending market across regions, the role of loan guarantees during economic crises, competition between state-owned banks and private financial institutions, and the impact of bank mergers. The second feature of the book is that it presents and makes available to researchers statistical data on SME finance that were previously unavailable due to a lack of accurate and detailed data sources. The book shows, for the first time in Japan, the extent of concentration at the prefecture level in both loan and deposit markets over a 15-year period. It also shows for the first time not only in Japan but also in other countries an indicator of the flow of funds between regions via loans and deposits, providing new insights into the role of regional fund allocation. These findings will be of interest not only to researchers interested in Japan, but also to those in both developed and emerging economies interested in the evolution of SME finance.