Corporate Governance and Credit Financing in a Developing Economy

Abstract

Emerging markets have common weaknesses in their financial market development. Financial development is one institutional force that shapes financing and governance of firms in emerging markets. Debt and equity are alternative governance instruments. Trade credit is part of debt and therefore should be treated as such in corporate governance. We used a fixed effect regression of financial sector development and trade credit of firms listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange to ascertain the relationship of financial sector development and trade credit. We also analyzed the Socially Responsible Index (SRI) which measures corporate governance. We find that good corporate governance practices do not result in substituting of trade credit, despite its high implicit costs, with bank loans for working capital financing.