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Do Microloan Officers Want to Lend to the Less Advantaged? Evidence from a Choice Experiment

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  • Sagamba, Moïse

    (Université Lumiére de Bujumbura and Université de Bretagne Occidentale)

  • Shchetinin, Oleg

    (Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University)

  • Yusupov, Nurmukhammad

    (Chaire Banque Populaire, Audencia Nantes School of Management)

Abstract

The mission of microfinance is generally perceived as compensation for the failure of the mainstream financial institutions to deliver access to finance to the poor. Microloan officers have significant influence on microloans allocation as they contact loan applicants and process information inside microfinance institutions (MFIs). We conduct a choice experiment with microloan officers in Burundi to determine which clients are preferred for microloan allocation and whether the less advantaged are indeed targeted. The results suggest that the allocation of microloans is slightly in favor of the less advantaged, whereas the main determinant is the quality of the applicants' business projects. Somewhat surprisingly, we find only small differences in the determinants of the targeted groups between non-profit and profit-seeking MFIs.

Suggested Citation

  • Sagamba, Moïse & Shchetinin, Oleg & Yusupov, Nurmukhammad, 2011. "Do Microloan Officers Want to Lend to the Less Advantaged? Evidence from a Choice Experiment," Working Papers in Economics 492, University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:gunwpe:0492
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    Cited by:

    1. Jia, Xiangping & Cull, Robert & Guo, Pei & Ma, Tao, 2016. "Commercialization and mission drift: Evidence from a large Chinese microfinance institution," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 17-32.
    2. N’Guessan, Marie Noëlle & Hartarska, Valentina, 2021. "Funding for BOP in Emerging Markets: Organizational Forms and Capital Structures of Microfinance Institutions," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    3. Radhakrishnan, Smitha, 2015. "“Low Profile” or Entrepreneurial? Gender, Class, and Cultural Adaptation in the Global Microfinance Industry," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 264-274.
    4. Czura, Kristina & Englmaier, Florian & Ho, Hoa & Spantig, Lisa, 2022. "Microfinance loan officers before and during Covid-19: Evidence from India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    5. Caserta, Maurizio & Monteleone, Simona & Reito, Francesco, 2018. "The trade-off between profitability and outreach in microfinance," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 31-41.
    6. Schüring, Esther, 2014. "Preferences for Community-based Targeting - Field Experimental Evidence from Zambia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 360-373.
    7. Mohamed, Toka S. & Elgammal, Mohammed M., 2023. "Credit risk in Islamic microfinance institutions: The role of women, groups, and rural borrowers," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    8. Tchakoute Tchuigoua, Hubert, 2018. "Which types of microfinance institutions decentralize the loan approval process?," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 237-244.
    9. Julie De Pril & Cécile Godfroid, 2017. "How to Reconcile Financial Incentives and Prosocial Motivation of Loan Officers in Microfinance?," Working Papers CEB 17-011, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    10. Leif Atle Beisland & Bert D’Espallier & Roy Mersland, 2019. "The Commercialization of the Microfinance Industry: Is There a ‘Personal Mission Drift’ Among Credit Officers?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 158(1), pages 119-134, August.
    11. Tchakoute-Tchuigoua, Hubert & Soumaré, Issouf, 2019. "The effect of loan approval decentralization on microfinance institutions' outreach and loan portfolio quality," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 1-17.
    12. Shchetinin, Oleg & Wollbrant, Conny, 2013. "The intermediary role of microloan officers: Evidence from Ethiopia," Working Papers in Economics 581, University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    microfinance; choice experiment; microloan officers; non-profit organizations;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C83 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs - - - Survey Methods; Sampling Methods
    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • L31 - Industrial Organization - - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise - - - Nonprofit Institutions; NGOs; Social Entrepreneurship
    • O55 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Africa

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