This paper estimates the degree of credit penetration among
Mexican firms if they were in other Latin American countries
(counterfactuals). It also estimates the share of foreign firms that would
have credit from financial institutions if they were in Mexico. It
measures the share of the difference in credit penetration due to
differences in the firms’ characteristics, and the share of this difference
due to distinct financial systems (or structural differences, in a broader
sense). The data comes from the Enterprise Survey carried out by the
World Bank. The methodology combines a logit model and
bootstrapping estimations. The results suggest that differences in credit
penetration among countries are explained by both factors: financial
system particularities and firm characteristics are important. This
information is relevant for designing public policies on the matter.