Credit Behaviors of Rural Households in the Perspective of Complex Social Networks

With the increasing number of social networks emerging and evolving, the influence of social networks on human behavior is now again a subject of discussion in academe. Dynamics in social networks, such as opinion formation and information sharing, are restricting or proliferating members’ behavior on social networks, while new social network dynamics are created by interpersonal contacts and interactions. Based on this and against the backdrop of unfavourable rural credit development, this article uses CHFS data to discuss the whole and heterogeneous impact of social networks on rural household credit behavior. The results show that (1) social networks can effectively promote rural household credit behavior; (2) social networks have a significant positive impact on both formal credit and informal credit, but the influence of the latter is stronger; (3) both emotional networks and instrumental networks have a positive impact on formal credit and informal credit, and their influences are stronger on informal credit; (4) the influence of emotional network is stronger than instrumental networks on either formal credit or informal credit.