TY  - JOUR
AU  - Beck,Thorsten
AU  - Demirguc-Kunt,Asli
AU  - Levine,Ross
TI  - Law and Firms' Access to Finance
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 10687
PY  - 2004
Y2  - August 2004
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w10687
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w10687.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Thorsten Beck
The World Bank
1818 H Street N.W.
Mail Stop MC 3-307
Washington, D.C. 20433
E-Mail: tbeck@worldbank.org

Asli Demirguc-Kunt
World Bank
1818 H Street
Washington, DC  20433
E-Mail: ademirguckunt@worldbank.org

Ross Levine
Department of Economics
Brown University
64 Waterman Street
Providence, RI 02912
Tel: 401/863-2170
E-Mail: ross_levine@brown.edu
AB  - This paper contributes to the literature on how a country's legal origin influences the operation of its financial system by using firm-level survey data on the obstacles that firms face in raising external finance. The paper assesses two channels through which legal origin may influence the financial system. It finds that the adaptability of a country's legal system is more important for explaining the obstacles that firms face in accessing external finance than the political independence of the judiciary.
ER  -