Purpose – With rapid population aging in Korea, changes in the population structure will result in a rise in the fiscal burden. This paper investigates the effects of population aging on fiscal spending based on Korea’s province data and country panel data from the OECD. Research design, data, and methodology - We use province-level fiscal data from Local Finance Integrated Open System and the Korean Statistical Information Service and also collect country panel data from the OECD. To investigate the relationship between population aging and fiscal expenditures, our analysis uses the fixed effects model. Results - The empirical analysis based on Korean local finance and country panel data show that population aging has a positive impact on social welfare expenditures and it also has a positive impact on spending related to children and the elderly, implying that population aging may lead to an increase in fiscal spending via an increase in social welfare expenditures and spending related to children and the elderly. Conclusion - These empirical results suggest that countries like Korea that expect to experience rapid population aging need to pay more attention to prepare for the expected increase in age-related spending in the near future.

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the determinants of non-bank depository institutions (non-bank financial corporations) lending to firms. The paper aims to contribute to the existing literature by providing empirical evidence from firm-level data and unveiling factors related to access to non-bank financial corporations by firms. Research design, data, and methodology – We used the data on borrowing by firms from CRETOP from years 2008 to 2011. Using the manufacturing industry, we examined what firm-level characteristics explained the increase in borrowing from non-bank financial corporations rather than the banks. Results – Analyzing the firm-level data from 2008 to 2011, we found that firms were more likely to borrow from non-bank financial institutions as the size of the firm increases, implying that large firms have more access to non-bank financing than small and medium-sized firms. In addition, it also showed that small and medium-sized firms moved to non-bank financial corporations for loans. Conclusion - Non-bank depository institutions are not a substitute for bank lending to firms. More specifically, they replace bank lending to firms mostly for large firms rather than small and medium-sized firms. Also, collateral and other firm-level characteristics do not matter in accounting for non-bank lending to firms.

Purpose – This paper explores the determinants of bank lending to firms during and after the global financial crisis using firm- and bank-level data to answer the questions what caused the contraction of lending to firms despite the loosening monetary policy during this crisis period. Research design, data, and methodology – We investigate the effects of the monetary policy that followed the global financial crisis on firms borrowing. We use a dynamic panel model to address how firms lending respond to monetary policy. The data are obtained from CRETOP and we consider the manufacturing sector for the analysis to control for unobserved heterogeneity such as industry-specific shocks. Results – The findings from the empirical analysis suggest that both bank- and firm-level characteristics are significant determinants of bank lending. Especially, we find that corporate risk, measured by default risk, is one of the key factors that led to a decline in lending during the crisis. Conclusions – This paper shows that companies borrow more from liquid banks, and high bank capital can also contribute to an increase in a firm’s borrowing from banks. Especially, the results confirm that the default rate measured at the firm level has increased during and after the global financial crisis, which implies that default risk interplays with other firm and bank-level characteristics.