This paper specifies an empirical framework for estimating both technical and allocative efficiency, which is applied to a large panel of European banks over the years 1996 to 2003. Our methodology allows for self-consistent measurement of technical and allocative inefficiency, in an effort to...

Small and micro enterprises are usually majority owned by entrepreneurs. Using a unique sample of loan applications from such firms, we study the role of owners' gender in the credit decision of banks and the post-credit decision firm outcomes. We find that, ceteris paribus, female entrepreneurs...

Using corporate loan facilities and hand-matched information on bank lobbying, we show that borrower performance improves after receiving credit from lobbying banks. This especially holds for opaque borrowers, about which the lending bank possesses valuable information, as well as for borrowers...