Labeled loans and human capital investments

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Augsburg, Britta; Caeyers, Bet; Giunti, Sara; Malde, Bansi; Smets, Susanna
• 署名单位: Norwegian School of Economics (NHH); University of Milano-Bicocca; University of Kent; The World Bank
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0304-3878
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2023.103053
• 发表日期: 2023
• 关键词: credit constraints; Microcredit; labels; Commitment device; fungibility; sanitation; subsidies

摘要

Imperfect capital markets and commitment problems impede lumpy human capital investments. Labeled loans have been postulated as a potential solution to both constraints, but little is known about the role of the label in influencing investment choices in practice. We draw on a cluster randomized controlled trial in rural India to test predictions from a theoretical model, providing novel evidence that labeled microcredit is effective in influencing household borrowing and investment decisions and increasing take-up of a lumpy human capital investment, a toilet.