SMEs employment growth under heterogeneous credit constraints
研究发现，相比成功获得银行贷款的企业，完全受信贷配给或放弃申请贷款的中小企业扩大员工规模的可能性低五个百分点，表明信贷摩擦不仅影响投资，也影响雇佣行为。
This study investigates the impact of heterogeneous credit constraints on employment growth among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Firms that are either fully credit-rationed or discouraged from applying for credit are found to be five percentage points less likely to expand their workforce compared to those successfully obtaining bank loans. These findings highlight that credit frictions affect not only investment decisions, but also hiring behavior. The results are robust to alternative definitions of credit constraints and remain consistent when addressing endogeneity using inverse probability weighting methods. Overall, the study underscores the critical role of credit access in shaping SME employment dynamics and provides insights for policies aimed at fostering SME-led job creation.