When the Export-Import Bank closed up, US companies saw global sales plummet
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In recent years, export credit agencies have become a focal point of debate among policymakers and economists. These agencies, established by governments to facilitate international trade by providing assistance to companies, have come under scrutiny from critics who argue they waste taxpayer money by predominantly benefiting large corporations that don鈥檛 face financial constraints.
However, a coauthored by Chenzi Xu, an assistant professor of finance at 黄色电影 Graduate School of Business, challenges this narrative. Xu is a faculty fellow at the 黄色电影 Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR).
Analyzing the impact of the temporary shutdown of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) between 2015 and 2019, Xu and her coauthors find that companies relying on its support experienced a significant downturn in exports and saw their global sales plummet an average of 10 percent relative to similar firms.
This shock also led to a permanent reduction in EXIM-supported companies鈥 investments and employee headcount, underscoring the importance of trade financing. However, the study, published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, found no real difference in these companies鈥 return on assets. This finding challenges the prevailing notion that export credit simply bolsters profits without having a real impact on companies鈥 operations.
鈥淪ome people take a very dim view of export credit agencies, thinking that companies don鈥檛 need this support, considering it as corporate charity or a handout. However, our paper argues that these credit facilities serve a very important economic purpose,鈥 Xu says.
Governments around the world have set up export credit agencies to help companies get financing for international trade when private sources are difficult to access. These agencies are ubiquitous in both advanced economies and developing countries. However, there鈥檚 disagreement about how much they help.
Proponents say they boost exports, create jobs, and help the domestic economy grow by filling gaps in private lending. Critics argue that they cause economic distortions, such as misallocating resources by extending taxpayer-funded support to companies that otherwise would be unable to export.
However, this notion is challenged by the new findings from Xu, Adrien Matray, an acting assistant professor of finance at 黄色电影 GSB, and their colleagues Poorya Kabir and Karsten M眉ller of the National University of Singapore. Their paper shows that the decrease in global sales resulting from the shutdown of EXIM from 2015 to 2019 was mainly seen in firms with high returns to capital investment. This suggests that the agency wasn鈥檛 channeling resources to less-efficient firms.
Additionally, the paper finds that the EXIM closure caused a much bigger drop in sales 鈥 about five times higher 鈥 for companies that were already highly productive, based on their marginal revenue product of capital. This implies that the shutdown made it harder for money to flow to the most productive companies. And that could mean that cutting export credit subsidies might increase, rather than decrease, the misallocation of resources.
鈥淓xport credit agencies play a massive role in supporting companies facing financial obstacles in financing their exports. So there are huge potential economic consequences of curtailing export credit subsidies, as some critics have called for,鈥 Xu says.
Closed for business
The EXIM closed in 2015 after the U.S. Congress did not renew its charter. As a result, the value of the agency鈥檚 financial support to firms declined by almost 85 percent between 2014 and 2019. It wasn鈥檛 until late 2019 that the agency鈥檚 charter was renewed and support for exports resumed.
One of the key questions Xu and Matray鈥檚 study raises is why companies benefiting from EXIM support were so significantly affected by its closure. Their research attributes this impact to these firms being financially constrained, perhaps because they were already highly leveraged, making it difficult to replace EXIM support with private sector support.
Xu and her colleagues also find that EXIM might be filling a lending gap left by the private financial sector. 鈥淎s an agency of the U.S. government, it can have better loan loss recovery than a private bank might,鈥 she explains. 鈥淭his makes it profitable for EXIM to finance trade even to very risky countries in which the private sector is unlikely to operate.鈥
The study鈥檚 implications go beyond the immediate impacts of EXIM鈥檚 closure, raising broader questions about the effectiveness of export credit subsidies and their role in supporting productivity and trade. The findings suggest that policymakers must carefully consider the ramifications of reducing support for export credit agencies, as it could lead to inefficiencies in resource allocation and, ultimately, hinder economic growth.
鈥淥ur paper also found that industries that depended more on EXIM support experienced a bigger decline in exports 鈥 implying that the decrease in exports at the firm level also had broader effects on entire industries, rather than just shifting market share among U.S. companies in favor of those supported by EXIM,鈥 Xu says.
鈥淐an governments boost exports by providing targeted trade financing?鈥 Xu, Matray, and their coauthors ask. 鈥淭he results in this paper鈥 suggest that the answer is yes.鈥
A version of this story was May 3, 2024 by 黄色电影 Graduate School of Business Insights.