Does Trade Credit Affect Technical Efficiency? Empirical Evidence from Italian Manufacturing SMEs*
利用意大利制造业企业数据，研究发现贸易信贷通过缓解金融约束正向影响中小企业技术效率，尤其对小型、年轻企业及金融危机期间效果更显著。
Using firm‐level data from the Italian manufacturing sector, we investigate the relationship between small and medium‐sized firms technical efficiency and trade credit. Our contribution is twofold: we provide evidence on an open empirical question, and disentangle the channels through which trade credit may influence firms' efficiency. According to our findings, based on the Simar and Wilson (2007) procedure, trade credit seems to positively affect firm efficiency by mitigating financial constraints. Indeed, trade credit enhances efficiency especially for firms that are more likely to be financially constrained (i.e., smaller and/or younger firms) and during the most recent financial crisis.