Using data from the Italian Survey on Household Income and Wealth from 1995 to 2014, we study the relation between informal credit (loans from relatives and friends) and a household’s access to bank credit. While most of the literature has focused on the substitutability channel, we highlight that even households with full access to the formal credit market are more likely to be indebted to relatives or friends when compared to those not interested in formal loans. This complementarity is stronger for households who have problems paying back their loans, suggesting the family and friends can act as lenders of last resort in the case of distress. Finally, we estimate the overall impact of an expansion of local credit supply on the diffusion of informal loans, using an IV approach. The results suggest that the complementarity effect prevails, but the positive effect on informal loans is economically very small.

我们使用 1995 年至 2014 年意大利家庭收入和财富调查的数据，研究了非正式信贷（来自亲戚和朋友的贷款）与家庭获得银行信贷的机会之间的关系。虽然大多数文献都关注替代渠道，但我们强调，与对正式贷款不感兴趣的家庭相比，即使是完全进入正式信贷市场的家庭也更有可能向亲戚或朋友负债。对于无法偿还贷款的家庭来说，这种互补性更强，这表明家人和朋友可以在遇到困难时充当最后的贷款人。最后，我们使用 IV 方法估计了地方信贷供应扩张对非正规贷款扩散的总体影响。结果表明互补效应占优势，