Effects of Tight Money Policy on the Availability of Bank Loans to Small Businesses

Abstract

Despite efforts in the past, the issue of whether tight money policy unfairly discriminates against small businesses remains an unsettled debate. More statistical investigation of the issue seems to offer the only answer to resolve the issue. This paper presents results from a statistical investigation of the financial conditions of small manufacturing corporations. The time-series analysis covering three cycles and one minor slump during '66–67 reveals that commercial banks did drastically reduce the volume of loans to small manufacturers during tight money periods when large corporations demanded more accommodation from banks.