英文文献

Formal versus Informal Finance:Evidence from China Meghana Ayyagari，Asli Demirguc-kunt，Vojislav Maksimovic

The World Bank Development Research Group

Finance and Private Sector Team

Policy Research Working Paper，2008

China is often mentioned as a counterexample to the findings in the finance and growth literature since, despite the weaknesses in its banking system, it is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. The fast growth of Chinese private sector firms is taken as evidence that it is alternative financing and governance mechanisms that support China's growth. This paper takes a closer look at firm financing patterns and growth using a database of 2,400 Chinese firms. The authors find that a relatively small percentage of firms in the sample utilize formal bank finance with a much greater reliance on informal sources. However, the results suggest that despite its weaknesses, financing from the formal financial system is associated with faster firm growth, whereas fund raising from alternative channels is not. Using a selection model, the authors find no evidence that these results arise because of the selection of firms that have access to the formal financial system. Although firms report bank corruption, there is no evidence that it significantly affects the allocation of credit or the performance of firms that receive the credit. The findings suggest that the role of reputation and relationship based financing and governance mechanisms in financing the fastest growing firms in China is likely to be overestimated.

Financial development has been shown to be associated with faster growth and improved allocative efficiency.While the research focus has been on formal financial institutions, the literature has recognized the existence and role played by informal financial systems, especially in developing economies.The dominant view is that informal financial institutions play a complementary role to the formal financial system by servicing the lower end of the market，informal financing typically consists of small,unsecured, short term loans restricted to rural areas, agricultural contracts, households,individuals or small entrepreneurial ventures. Informal financial institutions rely on relationships and reputation and can more efficiently monitor and enforce repayment from a class of firms than commercial banks and similar formal financial institutions can.According to this view however, informal financial systems cannot substitute for formal financial systems because their monitoring and enforcement mechanisms are ill-equipped to scale up and meet the needs of the higher end of the market.

Recently, studies have emphasized the critical role played by informal networks and financial channels even in developed markets. Guiso, Sapienza and Zingales (2004) show that social capital affects the level of financial development acrossdifferent regions of Italy and is particularly important when legal enforcement is weaker and among less educated people who have limited understanding of contracting mechanisms. Gomes (2000) investigates why minority shareholders invest in IPOs in environments with poor investor protection