Public credit insurance benefits international trade - but how much?

Abstract

Little is known about the beneficial extent of public credit insurance for international trade. The subject is investigated by surveying the empirical literature. The survey suggests that a dollar of public credit insurance coverage creates between US$0.7 and US$2.8 worth of exports. The lower value in the previous sentence increases significantly, by 20 per cent to 40 per cent, if the exports involve a country where finance is constrained. While the literature is still in an early phase, the results so far point to clear benefits of public credit insurance for international trade. More research is needed.