Abstract :
This paper discusses the link between financial constraints and the behaviour of exporting and non-exporting firms in the period 2003-2012, which includes expansion (2003-2007) and crisis (2008-2012). A sample of 27,000 Spanish firms is used, of which 15,000 are exporters. We studied whether easy access to credit in the period of economic expansion or the challenging financial conditions arising from the crisis affected the competitiveness and internationalisation of these firms. We find evidence that during the expansion and bubble, the decision to export was not related to sources of financing. We also find that after the onset of the crisis, a firm's level of indebtedness had a negative relationship with its probability of exporting. Byline: Antonio GarcÃa-Tabuenca, Fernando Javier Crecente-Romero, Federico Pablo-MartÃ