Finance and Financial Management Commons^™

Credit Gap In Small Businesses: Some New Evidence, Atreya Chakraborty

Accounting and Finance Faculty Publication Series

What is the magnitude of credit constraint affecting small businesses? This paper provides estimate of the credit gap – defined as the difference between the desired and actual levels of debt for credit constrained small businesses. The estimated credit gap is approximately 20 percent, i.e., credit constrained small business on the average would desire 20 percent more debt. This credit gap varies considerably across industries, with manufacturing firms facing a significantly larger gap than firms in the wholesale or service industries.