Francesca Lotti

Do Women Pay More for Credit? Evidence from Italy

The answer is yes. By using a unique and large data set on overdraft contracts between banks and microfirms and self-employed individuals, we find robust evidence that women in Italy pay more for overdraft facilities than men. We could not find any evidence that women are riskier then men. The male/female differential remains even after controlling for a large number of characteristics of the type of business, the borrower and the market structure of the credit market. The result is not driven by women using a different type of bank than men, since the same bank charges different rates to male and female borrowers. Social capital does play a role: high levels of trust loosen credit conditions by lowering interest rates, but this benefit is not evenly distributed, as women benefit from increased social capital less than men.

The relationship between size and growth: the case of Italian newborn firms

This paper analyses the relationship between size and growth for a group of Italian newborn firms in the instruments industry. The main finding is that Gibrats Law of Proportionate Effect exhibits a behaviour dependent on the firms life cycle. In particular, even if in the years immediately following start-up the law could be rejected, since smaller firms have to rush in order to survive in the market, in subsequent years growth rates seem to converge towards a Gibrat-like pattern. This result is confirmed by the separate analyses carried out for micro-firms and larger firms.

Industry Dynamics and the Distribution of Firm Sizes: A Nonparametric Approach

The aim of this paper is to analyze the evolution of the size distribution of young firms within some selected industries, using as a background three theories of the distribution of firm sizes that identify a process of passive learning (Jovanovic 1982), one of active learning (Ericson and Pakes 1995), and an evolutionary one (Audretsch 1995) in the postentry dynamics of business firms. We use a nonparametric technique, the kernel density estimator, applied to a data set from the Italian National Institute for Social Security (INPS), consisting of 12 cohorts of new manufacturing firms that were followed on a quarterly base for six years. We find that firm size distribution is in general skewed to the right, although different industries display different paths and speeds of convergence toward the limit distribution. This finding is fairly consistent with theories allowing for industry heterogeneity in terms of structural and technological features, which, in turn, result in industry-specific evolution of the size distribution of new entrants.

The Survival of Family Firms: The Importance of Control and Family Ties

Abstract The aim of this article is to analyze the survival patterns of a group of family firms which have already spent at least 25 years in the market. To this end, we use the Kaplan–Meier product limit estimator supplemented with qualitative information gathered by direct observation and discussions with entrepreneurs. The main findings are that small family firms which have reached their 30th year in the market face a very high risk of sudden exit, increasing with firm age. Further control carried out by means of interviews with entrepreneurs identifies problems connected with succession as one of the main causes of the decision to close down.

Linking Knowledge to Productivity: A Germany-Italy Comparison Using the CIS Database

This paper employs micro-aggregated data from the FirstCommunity Innovation Survey for assessing the contribution of the level and type of R & D spending, the purchase of new machinerywith embodied technological change, economies of scale, and information sharing with client and suppliers to productivity(total sales per employee) in German and Italian firms in 20 manufacturing industries. The regression analysis confirms theresults of previous studies that R & D and technological change embodied in new machinery and capital equipment aremajor factors affecting productivity at the firm level. However, the elasticity of productivity to both R & D and embodiedtechnological change is higher in Germany than in Italy. Conversely, information sharing with clients and suppliersrelated to innovation projects does not result in higher productivity, with the exception of a few industries (inparticular those producing traditional consumer goods) in Germany.

Female Firms and Banks’ Lending Behaviour: What Happened during the Great Recession?

During the financial crisis banks faced liquidity shocks, and lending slowed down. The reduction in credit availability was due to demand- and supply-side factors. The decrease in turnover and investment led to a contraction of financial needs; on the other hand, the tightening of credit supply was the result of banksi?½ greater risk-aversion, difficulties in raising funds, and a worsening in the creditworthiness of borrowers. However, banks do not pass on liquidity shocks to borrowers according to a homogenous pattern: by following a pecking order, they first reduce lending to the marginal segment of borrowers to protect their core customers. Previous studies have shown that banks are less prone to lend to female firms than to others: lending to female firms may have suffered more during the crisis than other segments of the credit market. By using data from the Credit Register at the Bank of Italy for the period 2007-2009, we find that women-owned firms faced a more pronounced credit contraction with respect to other firms.