Informal Financing of Small – Medium Enterprise Sector: The Case of Greece
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Abstract
In this paper, we attempt to find a “channel” through which Greek economy can exhibit a relative “resistance” in a credit crunch. For this purpose, we specify an error correction model so as to test the relationship between corporate bank loans and commercial papers comprised of post-dated cheques and bills of exchange. The results show that corporate bank loans and cheques - bills of exchange are substitutes. This finding combined with the fact that in Greece, the issuance of these papers is positively connected with the informal economic activity which in turn rises during economic downturns, has a strong economic implication regarding the ability of Greek economy to partly “amortize” the shocks connected with the current financial crisis.
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