국내 기업의 재무정책 결정요인 분석: 재무제약 및 금융경색이 단기자금 조달구조에 미치는 영향

This paper investigates the determinants of corporate financial policy by examining the adjustment of structure of short-term debt financing in Korea. In particular, this paper examines how various aspects of firm-level financial constraints affect the adjustment of trade credit use in short-term debt financing. In corporate debt financing, it is prevailing wisdom that the reliance on trade credit increases with the degree of financial constraints. There is a general notion that trade credit is considerably more expensive than short-term bank financing (revolving line) and commercial paper and trade credit is used more by the firms facing obstacles to obtain financing from banks and capital markets, such as SMEs and the firms at early growth stage. This paper confirms these stylized facts and shows that trade credit is substitute for bank revolving line and commercial paper and is more prevailingly used by firms which are financially constrained and distressed. In the meanwhile, this paper finds that trade credit use is quite pro-cyclical in response to credit constraints and financial crises in Korea. The results of this paper imply that the shortterm debt markets in Korea need to be well-organized. In particular, the firms with financial weakness and high growth potential such as SMEs can vitalize their activities and values by using trade credits in more market-disciplined environments of the shortterm debt markets.