Title: The risk-effective sustainability of policies: the small business credit environment in Korea

Authors: Yongrok Choi, Eui Young Lee, Desheng Dash Wu

Addresses: Department of International Trade, Inha University, Nam-gu, Incheon, South Korea. ' Department of Economics Kunsan National University 1170, Daehak-no, Kunsan, Cheonbuk, South Korea. ' School of Science and Engineering, Reykjavik University, Ofanleiti 2, 103 Reykjavik, Iceland; RiskLab, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3G3, Canada

Abstract: Current ecological or environmental risks, such as air pollution, are usually analysed in an economic system. Existing studies show that small businesses are exposed to environmental risks and thus need to be supported by public financing for the risk-effective sustainability of regional economic performance. However, some critics argue that the acceptable performance may result from methodological bias, instead of theoretical reasons or empirical data. It is not enough to say that ||something is better than nothing|| for marginally risky businesses, in terms of the sustainability of policies. Thus, this study analyses whether public-financing support, such as credit guarantees, is sustainable in practice. Empirical results reveal that innovation in governance is required.

Keywords: risky business; sustainability; moral hazard; Korea; governance; small businesses; environmental risks; sustainable development; public finance; financial support; credit guarantees; government support.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEP.2010.035347

International Journal of Environment and Pollution, 2010 Vol.42 No.4, pp.317 - 329

Published online: 26 Sep 2010 *

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