Credit information and firms’ access to finance : evidence from an alternative measure of credit constraints

This note analyzes the role of credit information in firms’ access to finance using a credit constraint variable from World Bank Enterprise Surveys and credit information data from Doing Business for 111 economies. The findings show that small and medium-size firms are more likely to be credit constrained. Also, a more advanced credit information system is associated with lower levels of credit constraints, particularly for smaller firms, firms that are not externally audited or firms that lack a quality certification.