CIRJE-J-222 『「『法人企業統計季報』個表を用いた日本企業の 資金調達行動の研究―― 1994 ~ 2009」: Introduction and Summary』
"A Study of Financing Behavior of Japanese Firms with Firm-Level Data from Corporate Enterprise Quarterly Statistics - 1994~2009: Introduction and Summary"
Author Name 三輪芳朗 (Yoshiro Miwa)
Date October 2010
Full Paper PDF file (only Japanese version available)
Remarks  Revised in March 2011.
Abstract (Japanese) Abstract (English)


From early spring to late summer in 2010 I investigated the financing behavior of Japanese firms with over \20 million in paid-in capital, using firm-level financial data from Hojin Kigyo Tokei Kiho (Corporate Enterprise Quarterly Statistics) of the Ministry of Finance. "A Study of Financing Behavior of Japanese Firms with Firm-Level Data from Corporate Enterprise Quarterly Statistics ? 1994~2009", divided into five discussion papers, constitutes the report. This Introduction and Summary forms the first of the five papers. The other four papers are:
[I]. The Low "Bank-Dependence Ratio" and the Further Increase in the "Independence of Firms from Banks", CIRJE-J-223.
[II]. The Reality of Short-term Shocks like the "Credit Crunch" of 1997-1999 and the "Financial Crisis" of 2007, and the Effectiveness of "Emergency" Economic Measures ? A Follow-up to Miwa [2008], CIRJE-J-224.
[III]. The Reality of Trade Credit and its Link to Bank Borrowing and Inventory: (1) Overall Discussion and Preliminary Investigation, CIRJE-J-225. [IV]. The Reality of Trade Credit and its Link to Bank Borrowing and Inventory: (2) Correlation Coefficients and Multiple Regressions, CIRJE-J-226.
This Statistics collects quarterly financial data from about 20,000 randomly sampled non-financial firms in 5 size-categories, most of which are unlisted small businesses. Using firm-level data in 1994-2009, I investigate the financing behavior of the firms in Japan during "the Lost Two Decades." I explore the reality of the "Credit Crunch" of 1997-1999 and the "Financial Crisis" of 2007, the effectiveness of the policy measures adopted, and the effect of the "zero-interest-rate, quantity easing" monetary policy.
The most surprising finding is that the ratio of zero-short-term-borrowing was the highest, 50% in 1998 and two-thirds in 2008, among the smallest firms. The average (short-term bank borrowing)/(total asset) ratio was also lowest among this group. This "Independence from Banks" is a fundamental challenge to the basic premise of the conventional wisdom about the Japanese financial market and corporate finance.