This is the first book in English that uses multiple data sources to comprehensively examine issues related to small and medium enterprise (SME) finance in Japan. The first feature of the book is that it empirically examines issues that are important not only for Japan but also for other countries. These issues include zombie firms, the expansion of the bank lending market across regions, the role of loan guarantees during economic crises, competition between state-owned banks and private financial institutions, and the impact of bank mergers. The second feature of the book is that it presents and makes available to researchers statistical data on SME finance that were previously unavailable due to a lack of accurate and detailed data sources. The book shows, for the first time in Japan, the extent of concentration at the prefecture level in both loan and deposit markets over a 15-year period. It also shows for the first time not only in Japan but also in other countries an indicator of the flow of funds between regions via loans and deposits, providing new insights into the role of regional fund allocation. These findings will be of interest not only to researchers interested in Japan, but also to those in both developed and emerging economies interested in the evolution of SME finance.

Autorentext

lichiro Uesugi is a professor at the Institute of Economic Research of Hitotsubashi University, Japan. He received his M.A. and Ph.D. in economics in 2000 from the University of California, San Diego. Prior to becoming a member of the faculty of Hitotsubashi University in 2011, he joined the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) in 1993 and worked in places including the Economic Policy Unit of the Minister's Secretariat; the Macroeconomic Affairs Division in the Economic and Industrial Policy Bureau; the Research Division of the Small and Medium Enterprises Agency; and the Research Institute of Economy, Trade, and Industry. His research interests focus on banking, corporate finance, and firm dynamics. His research has been published in a number of scholarly journals including International Economic Review, Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking, Journal of Banking and Finance, and Journal of the Japanese and International Economies.