Abstract
The paper investigates if Credit Guarantee Schemes (CGSs)
have an effect on Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) bankruptcies. In such a
framework, some recent studies are devoted to deepen the issue at national
level. Most of them conclude that the CGSs may increase the probability of SMEs
bankruptcies, suggesting the questions of moral hazard and adverse selection as
possible motivations. In our analysis we consider a selection of countries
examined by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
and perform a simple linear regression study in order to analyze the
effectiveness of CGSs at international level. Results from the analysis are
mixed, suggesting that the CGSs do not necessarily have a positive or negative
impact on SMEs bankruptcies and more motivations are to be found in the
specific country peculiarities.