Le crédit commercial: un substitut au crédit bancaire... quand le développement financier est faible. Une analyse empirique sur données de firmes de la région MENA

Using a database of more than 1,100 firms in the MENA region, this article looks at the determinants of trade credit use. We show that the difficulty of accessing bank credit positively influences the use of trade credit, and thus demonstrate the (even imperfect) substitutability of bank credit and trade credit. Similarly, the quality of firms' financial structure negatively impacts the use of trade credit, emphasizing the latter is mainly useful for financially weak firms. Finally, we show that previous results tend to weaken or even disappear when financial development is high enough. Primarily driven by trade relationships with partner firms, trade credit becomes then more a complement to bank credit.