Win Some Lose Some? Evidence from a Randomized Microcredit Program Placement Experiment by Compartamos Banco

69 Pages Posted: 8 Dec 2013

See all articles by Manuela Angelucci

Manuela Angelucci

University of Arizona - Department of Economics; University of Michigan - Department of Economics; Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)

Dean S. Karlan

Yale University; Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management; Innovations for Poverty Action; Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL); National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

Jonathan Zinman

Dartmouth College; Innovations for Poverty Action; Jameel Poverty Action Lab; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Multiple version iconThere are 5 versions of this paper

Date Written: July 10, 2013

Abstract

Theory and evidence have raised concerns that microcredit does more harm than good, particularly when offered at high interest rates. We use a clustered randomized trial, and household surveys of eligible borrowers and their businesses, to estimate impacts from an expansion of group lending at 110% APR by the largest microlender in Mexico. Average effects on a rich set of outcomes measured 18-34 months post-expansion suggest some good and little harm. Other estimators identify heterogeneous treatment effects and effects on outcome distributions, but again yield little support for the hypothesis that microcredit causes harm.

Keywords: microcredit; microcredit impact; microentrepreneurship; Compartamos Banco

JEL Classification: D12, D22, G21, O12

Suggested Citation

Angelucci, Manuela and Angelucci, Manuela and Karlan, Dean S. and Karlan, Dean S. and Zinman, Jonathan, Win Some Lose Some? Evidence from a Randomized Microcredit Program Placement Experiment by Compartamos Banco (July 10, 2013). Center for Global Development Working Paper No. 330, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2364174 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2364174

Manuela Angelucci

University of Arizona - Department of Economics ( email )

McClelland Hall
1130 Helen St.
Tucson, AZ 85721-0108
United States

University of Michigan - Department of Economics ( email )

611 Tappan Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1220
United States

Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Dean S. Karlan (Contact Author)

Yale University ( email )

Box 208269
New Haven, CT 06520-8269
United States

Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management ( email )

2001 Sheridan Road
Evanston, IL 60208
United States

Innovations for Poverty Action ( email )

1731 Connecticut Ave, 4th floor
New Haven, CT 20009
United States

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) ( email )

E60-246
77 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139
United States

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) ( email )

London
United Kingdom

Jonathan Zinman

Dartmouth College ( email )

Hanover, NH 03755
United States
603-646-0075 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://https://sites.dartmouth.edu/jzinman/

Innovations for Poverty Action

1731 Connecticut Ave, 4th floor
New Haven, CT 20009
United States

Jameel Poverty Action Lab

E60-246
77 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139
United States

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

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