Countertrade - or reciprocal buying - is defined as a transaction involving (at least) a two-way transfer of goods, rather than a singular transfer of goods for money. The main objective of this paper is to explain the extensive use of countertrade both between countries and between firms within...

It is typically less profitable for an opportunistic borrower to divert inputs than to divert cash. Suppliers, therefore, may lend more liberally than banks. This simple argument is at the core of our contract theoretic model of trade credit in competitive markets. The model implies that trade...