Do crises have an impact on the structure of capital? A study of French micro-enterprises.

Small businesses occupy an important place in the French economy with a 9% share in GDP. The management of their capital structure is a central element to ensure their functioning and development. This article proposes to study the determinants of the capital structure of a sample of more than 4,000 French VSEs over the period 2003 to 2013, focusing on the impact of the 2007-2008 crisis. Our results show that VSEs prefer internal financing to external financing. During the crisis, VSEs are making greater use of short-term debt to ensure operational growth by limiting long-term debt to finance investments in tangible assets.