Does Distance Still Matter? The Information Revolution in Small Business Lending

Posted: 17 May 2003

See all articles by Mitchell A. Petersen

Mitchell A. Petersen

Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Raghuram G. Rajan

University of Chicago - Booth School of Business; International Monetary Fund (IMF); National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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Abstract

The distance between small firms and their lenders is increasing, and they are communicating in more impersonal ways. After documenting these systematic changes, we demonstrate they do not arise from small firms locating differently, consolidation in the banking industry, or biases in the sample. Instead, improvements in lender productivity appear to explain our findings. We also find distant firms no longer have to be the highest quality credits, indicating they have greater access to credit. The evidence indicates there has been substantial development of the financial sector, even in areas such as small business lending.

Suggested Citation

Petersen, Mitchell A. and Rajan, Raghuram G., Does Distance Still Matter? The Information Revolution in Small Business Lending. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=369711

Mitchell A. Petersen (Contact Author)

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Raghuram G. Rajan

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