IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/jdevst/v50y2014i7p926-948.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Impact of Microcredit on Child Education: Quasi-experimental Evidence from Rural China

Author

Listed:
  • Jing You
  • Samuel Annim

Abstract

This article assesses causal effects of formal microcredit on children's educational outcomes by using household panel data (2000 and 2004) in north-west rural China. The unobservables between borrowers and non-borrowers are controlled in static and dynamic regression-discontinuity designs. The static analysis reveals significant positive impact of microcredit on schooling years in 2000 only, and no influence on academic performance for either wave. The dynamic analysis shows progressive treatment effects on both longer schooling years and higher average scores. Formal microcredit improves education in the longer term compared to the short term, and hence may help relaxing the grip of educational poverty traps.

Suggested Citation

  • Jing You & Samuel Annim, 2014. "The Impact of Microcredit on Child Education: Quasi-experimental Evidence from Rural China," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(7), pages 926-948, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:jdevst:v:50:y:2014:i:7:p:926-948
    DOI: 10.1080/00220388.2014.903243
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/00220388.2014.903243
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/00220388.2014.903243?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lance Lochner & Alexander Monge-Naranjo, 2012. "Credit Constraints in Education," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 4(1), pages 225-256, July.
    2. Zhao, Meng & Glewwe, Paul, 2010. "What determines basic school attainment in developing countries? Evidence from rural China," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(3), pages 451-460, June.
    3. Stephanie Riegg Cellini & Fernando Ferreira & Jesse Rothstein, 2010. "The Value of School Facility Investments: Evidence from a Dynamic Regression Discontinuity Design," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 125(1), pages 215-261.
    4. Islam, Asadul & Maitra, Pushkar, 2012. "Health shocks and consumption smoothing in rural households: Does microcredit have a role to play?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(2), pages 232-243.
    5. Maldonado, Jorge H. & González-Vega, Claudio, 2008. "Impact of Microfinance on Schooling: Evidence from Poor Rural Households in Bolivia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(11), pages 2440-2455, November.
    6. Hongbin Li & Scott Rozelle & Linxiu Zhang, 2004. "Micro-credit programs and off-farm migration in China," Pacific Economic Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(3), pages 209-223, October.
    7. Brown, Philip H. & Park, Albert, 2002. "Education and poverty in rural China," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(6), pages 523-541, December.
    8. John Knight & Li Shi & Deng Quheng, 2010. "Education and the Poverty Trap in Rural China: Closing the Trap," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(1), pages 1-24.
    9. Katsushi S. Imai & MD. Shafiul Azam, 2011. "Does Microfinance Reduce Poverty in Bangladesh? New Evidence from Household Panel Data," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(5), pages 633-653, October.
    10. Paul W. Glewwe & Eric A. Hanushek & Sarah D. Humpage & Renato Ravina, 2011. "School Resources and Educational Outcomes in Developing Countries: A Review of the Literature from 1990 to 2010," NBER Working Papers 17554, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Robert Lensink & Thi Thu Tra Pham, 2012. "The impact of microcredit on self‐employment profits in Vietnam," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 20(1), pages 73-111, January.
    12. Imbens, Guido W. & Lemieux, Thomas, 2008. "Regression discontinuity designs: A guide to practice," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 142(2), pages 615-635, February.
    13. Shahidur R. Khandker, 2005. "Microfinance and Poverty: Evidence Using Panel Data from Bangladesh," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 19(2), pages 263-286.
    14. Asadul Islam, 2011. "Medium- and Long-Term Participation in Microcredit: An Evaluation Using a New Panel Dataset from Bangladesh," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 93(3), pages 843-862.
    15. Xia Li & Christopher Gan & Baiding Hu, 2011. "The impact of microcredit on women's empowerment: evidence from China," Journal of Chinese Economic and Business Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(3), pages 239-261.
    16. Imai, Katsushi S. & Arun, Thankom & Annim, Samuel Kobina, 2010. "Microfinance and Household Poverty Reduction: New Evidence from India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(12), pages 1760-1774, December.
    17. A. Smith, Jeffrey & E. Todd, Petra, 2005. "Does matching overcome LaLonde's critique of nonexperimental estimators?," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 125(1-2), pages 305-353.
    18. Sun, Ang & Yao, Yang, 2010. "Health shocks and children's school attainments in rural China," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(3), pages 375-382, June.
    19. Asadul Islam & Chongwoo Choe, 2013. "Child Labor And Schooling Responses To Access To Microcredit In Rural Bangladesh," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 51(1), pages 46-61, January.
    20. Tinh Doan & John Gibson & Mark Holmes, 2011. "Impacts of Household Credit on Education and Healthcare Spending by the Poor in Peri-urban Areas in Vietnam," Working Papers in Economics 11/06, University of Waikato.
    21. Lee, David S. & Card, David, 2008. "Regression discontinuity inference with specification error," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 142(2), pages 655-674, February.
    22. Hahn, Jinyong & Todd, Petra & Van der Klaauw, Wilbert, 2001. "Identification and Estimation of Treatment Effects with a Regression-Discontinuity Design," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 69(1), pages 201-209, January.
    23. Esther Duflo, 2012. "Women Empowerment and Economic Development," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 50(4), pages 1051-1079, December.
    24. Abhijit Banerjee & Esther Duflo & Rachel Glennerster & Cynthia Kinnan, 2015. "The Miracle of Microfinance? Evidence from a Randomized Evaluation," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 7(1), pages 22-53, January.
    25. Guido Imbens & Karthik Kalyanaraman, 2012. "Optimal Bandwidth Choice for the Regression Discontinuity Estimator," Review of Economic Studies, Oxford University Press, vol. 79(3), pages 933-959.
    26. Coleman, Brett E., 1999. "The impact of group lending in Northeast Thailand," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(1), pages 105-141, October.
    27. John Weiss & Heather Montgomery, 2005. "Great Expectations: Microfinance and Poverty Reduction in Asia and Latin America," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(3-4), pages 391-416.
    28. Fengxia Dong & Jing Lu & Allen Featherstone, 2010. "Effects of Credit Constraints on Productivity and Rural Household Income in China," Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) Publications (archive only) 10-wp516, Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) at Iowa State University.
    29. David S. Lee & Thomas Lemieux, 2010. "Regression Discontinuity Designs in Economics," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 48(2), pages 281-355, June.
    30. Gustafsson, Bjorn & Li, Shi, 2004. "Expenditures on education and health care and poverty in rural China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 15(3), pages 292-301.
    31. Li, Xia & Gan, Christopher & Hu, Baiding, 2011. "Accessibility to microcredit by Chinese rural households," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 235-246, June.
    32. Turvey, Calum G. & Kong, Rong, 2010. "Informal lending amongst friends and relatives: Can microcredit compete in rural China?," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(4), pages 544-556, December.
    33. Park, Albert & Ren, Changqing, 2001. "Microfinance with Chinese Characteristics," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 39-62, January.
    34. Li Rui & Zhu Xi, 2010. "Econometric analysis of credit constraints of chinese rural households and welfare loss," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(13), pages 1615-1625.
    35. van der Klaauw, Wilbert, 2008. "Breaking the link between poverty and low student achievement: An evaluation of Title I," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 142(2), pages 731-756, February.
    36. John Knight & Li Shi & Deng Quheng, 2009. "Education and the Poverty Trap in Rural China: Setting the Trap," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(4), pages 311-332.
    37. Li, Xia & Gan, Christopher & Hu, Baiding, 2011. "The welfare impact of microcredit on rural households in China," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 40(4), pages 404-411, August.
    38. Liverpool, Lenis Saweda O. & Winter-Nelson, Alex, 2010. "Poverty Status and the Impact of Formal Credit on Technology Use and Wellbeing among Ethiopian Smallholders," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 541-554, April.
    39. John Knight & Terry Sicular & Ximing Yue, 2011. "Educational Inequality in China: The Intergenerational Dimension," University of Western Ontario, Centre for Human Capital and Productivity (CHCP) Working Papers 201113, University of Western Ontario, Centre for Human Capital and Productivity (CHCP).
    40. Hermes, Niels & Lensink, Robert, 2011. "Microfinance: Its Impact, Outreach, and Sustainability," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(6), pages 875-881, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Luo, Jay, 2019. "Poverty alleviation research in rural China: Three decades and counting," SocArXiv gmuav, Center for Open Science.
    2. Abid Hussain & Muhammad Jehangir Khan & Iftikhar Ahmad, 2016. "Impact of Credit on Education and Healthcare Spending in Rural Pakistan," The Pakistan Development Review, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, vol. 55(4), pages 853-870.
    3. Phan, Chung Thanh & Sun, Sizhong & Zhou, Zhang-Yue & Beg, Rabiul & Ramsawak, Richard, 2023. "Does productive microcredit improve rural children's education? Evidence from rural Vietnam," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    4. Donou-Adonsou, Ficawoyi & Sylwester, Kevin, 2017. "Growth effect of banks and microfinance: Evidence from developing countries," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 44-56.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. You, Jing, 2013. "The role of microcredit in older children’s nutrition: Quasi-experimental evidence from rural China," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 167-179.
    2. Jing You, 2016. "Lending to Parents and Insuring Children: Is There a Role for Microcredit in Complementing Health Insurance in Rural China?," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 25(5), pages 543-558, May.
    3. Mauricio Villamizar‐Villegas & Freddy A. Pinzon‐Puerto & Maria Alejandra Ruiz‐Sanchez, 2022. "A comprehensive history of regression discontinuity designs: An empirical survey of the last 60 years," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(4), pages 1130-1178, September.
    4. Mathilde Maîtrot & Miguel Niño-Zarazúa, 2017. "Poverty and wellbeing impacts of microfinance: What do we know?," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2017-190, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    5. Mathilde Maîtrot & Miguel Niño-Zarazúa, 2017. "Poverty and wellbeing impacts of microfinance: What do we know?," WIDER Working Paper Series 190, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    6. Islam, Asadul, 2015. "Heterogeneous effects of microcredit: Evidence from large-scale programs in Bangladesh," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 48-58.
    7. Guido W. Imbens & Jeffrey M. Wooldridge, 2009. "Recent Developments in the Econometrics of Program Evaluation," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 47(1), pages 5-86, March.
    8. Thanh-Tung Nguyen & Trung Thanh Nguyen & Ulrike Grote, 2020. "Credit and Ethnic Consumption Inequality in the Central Highlands of Vietnam," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 148(1), pages 143-172, February.
    9. Bartalotti, Otávio C. & Calhoun, Gray & He, Yang, 2016. "Bootstrap Confidence Intervals for Sharp Regression Discontinuity Designs with the Uniform Kernel," Staff General Research Papers Archive 3394, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    10. Asadul Islam & Chandana Maitra & Debayan Pakrashi & Russell Smyth, 2016. "Microcredit Programme Participation and Household Food Security in Rural Bangladesh," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 67(2), pages 448-470, June.
    11. Matias D. Cattaneo & Rocío Titiunik, 2022. "Regression Discontinuity Designs," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 14(1), pages 821-851, August.
    12. Olga Kondratjeva, 2021. "Borrowing channels, purposes, and household investment and consumption: evidence from Nepal," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(4), pages 1591-1613, December.
    13. Akotey, Joseph Oscar & Adjasi, Charles K.D., 2016. "Does Microcredit Increase Household Welfare in the Absence of Microinsurance?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 380-394.
    14. Liqiong Lin & Weizhuo Wang & Christopher Gan & Quang T. T. Nguyen, 2019. "Credit Constraints on Farm Household Welfare in Rural China: Evidence from Fujian Province," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-19, June.
    15. Islam, Asadul & Nguyen, Chau & Smyth, Russell, 2015. "Does microfinance change informal lending in village economies? Evidence from Bangladesh," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 141-156.
    16. Sebastian Calonico & Matias D Cattaneo & Max H Farrell, 2020. "Optimal bandwidth choice for robust bias-corrected inference in regression discontinuity designs [Econometric methods for program evaluation]," The Econometrics Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 23(2), pages 192-210.
    17. Frandsen, Brigham R. & Frölich, Markus & Melly, Blaise, 2012. "Quantile treatment effects in the regression discontinuity design," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 168(2), pages 382-395.
    18. Christelis, Dimitris & Georgarakos, Dimitris & Sanz-de-Galdeano, Anna, 2020. "The impact of health insurance on stockholding: A regression discontinuity approach," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    19. Joaquín Artés & Ignacio Jurado, 2018. "Government fragmentation and fiscal deficits: a regression discontinuity approach," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 175(3), pages 367-391, June.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:taf:jdevst:v:50:y:2014:i:7:p:926-948. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/FJDS20 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.