Solidarity and Microfinance

26 Pages Posted: 3 Jun 2011 Last revised: 17 Oct 2016

See all articles by Vittoria Cerasi

Vittoria Cerasi

Corte dei conti; Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca - Center for European Studies (CefES)

Lucia Dalla Pellegrina

Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca - Department of Economics, Management and Statistics (DEMS)

Date Written: April 20, 2012

Abstract

In this paper we analyze the role of peer solidarity in fostering productive investments in the context of microfi…nance. When there is asymmetric information between lenders and borrowers and loans are not collateralized, borrowers may divert loans towards current consumption rather than investing in production. We assume that solidarity is accorded by a network of individuals close enough to the borrower (peers) so as to share private information about hidden effort in the productive project. The model shows that peer solidarity might have contrasting effects on the effort in the productive investment. On the one hand, since solidarity transfers are contingent on the effort, they increase borrower’s incentive to invest. On the other hand, solidarity tranfers decrease the marginal utility of future consumption at the expense of productive investment. The predictions of the model are tested on households enrolled in micro-lending programs who were surveyed in Bangladesh by the World Bank during the period 1991-1992. Empirical fi…ndings suggest a positive relationship between the …financial capability of borrowers’' solidarity network and the share of loans invested in productive activities.

Keywords: Micro-Finance; Social Networks; Intertemporal Consumption.

JEL Classification: O16, G21

Suggested Citation

Cerasi, Vittoria and Dalla Pellegrina, Lucia, Solidarity and Microfinance (April 20, 2012). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1856491 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1856491

Vittoria Cerasi (Contact Author)

Corte dei conti ( email )

viale Mazzini
Roma, Roma 00195
Italy

Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca - Center for European Studies (CefES) ( email )

U6 Building
Viale Piero e Alberto Pirelli, 22
Milano, 20126
Italy

Lucia Dalla Pellegrina

Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca - Department of Economics, Management and Statistics (DEMS) ( email )

Piazza dell'Ateneo Nuovo, 1
Milan, 20126
Italy

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