The effect of social capital on group loan repayment: Evidence from field experiments

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Cassar, Alessandra; Crowley, Luke; Wydick, Bruce
• 署名单位: University of California System; University of California San Francisco; Yale University
• 刊物名称: ECONOMIC JOURNAL
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0013-0133
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-0297.2007.02016.x
• 发表日期: 2007
• 页码: F85-F106
• 关键词: credit; performance; INFORMATION; DESIGN; MARKET; RISK

摘要

An important question to microfinance is the relevance of existing social capital in target communities to the performance of group lending. This research presents evidence from field experiments in South Africa and Armenia, in which subjects participate in trust and microfinance games. We present evidence that personal trust between group members and social homogeneity are more important to group loan repayment than general societal trust or acquaintanceship between members. We also find some evidence of reciprocity: those who have been helped by other group members in the past are more likely to contribute in the future.