A working paper published by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in November assesses the degree to which non-financial firms in Latin America are vulnerable to financial shocks, raising the possibility that shocks could be transmitted throughout the economy.

Using firm-level data from Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, author Maria Gonzalez-Miranda tests the resilience of firms to a sharp reversal in financial conditions. The research finds that firms with high leverage and maturity