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Grameen bank lending : does group liability matter ?

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  • Khandker, Shahidur R.

Abstract

Competing theories increasingly support the positive role of social capital in small loan default costs of group lending; at the same time, potential group collusion may increase loan delinquencies. Findings from the available literature are mixed on the role of the various attributes of group lending. But past studies suffer from estimation bias due to the unobserved sorting behavior of group members and their other attributes. This paper attempts to resolve that estimation bias by utilizing longitudinal data from 297 Grameen Bank groups since their inceptions. A dynamic lagged dependent model with correction for time-varying heterogeneity of group and individual behavior is applied to estimate the effect of group liability in the Grameen Bank. The results suggest that group liability matters in both loan disbursement and repayment, with women less of a credit risk than men and women's groups more homogeneous than men's. Finally, the benefits of social capital outweigh the costs of group collusion, especially for women's groups, thereby reducing overall default rates. The risk-pooling behavior of diverse men's groups increases men's repayment behavior. Overall, group lending as practiced by Grameen Bank appears to increase repayment rates.

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  • Khandker, Shahidur R., 2012. "Grameen bank lending : does group liability matter ?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6204, The World Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6204
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    Cited by:

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    2. Luminita Postelnicu & Niels Hermes & Ariane Szafarz, 2014. "Defining Social Collateral in Microfinance Group Lending," Palgrave Studies in Impact Finance, in: Roy Mersland & R. Øystein Strøm (ed.), Microfinance Institutions, chapter 10, pages 187-207, Palgrave Macmillan.
    3. Selay Sahan & Euan Phimister, 2023. "Repayment performance of joint‐liability microcredits: Metropolitan evidence on social capital and group names," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 75(2), pages 287-311, April.
    4. Luminita Postelnicu, 2012. "Social Capital and Repayment Performance of Group Lending in Microfinance," Working Papers CEB 12-032, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    5. Gehrig, Stefan & Mesoudi, Alex & Lamba, Shakti, 2020. "Banking on cooperation: An evolutionary analysis of microfinance loan repayment behaviour," OSF Preprints tmpqj, Center for Open Science.
    6. Al-Azzam, Moh’d & Parmeter, Christopher F. & Sarangi, Sudipta, 2020. "On the complex relationship between different aspects of social capital and group loan repayment," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 92-107.
    7. Uddin, Md Hamid & Akter, Shabiha & Mollah, Sabur & Al Mahi, Masnun, 2022. "Differences in bank and microfinance business models: An analysis of the loan monitoring systems and funding sources," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).

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    Keywords

    Debt Markets; Bankruptcy and Resolution of Financial Distress; Banks&Banking Reform; Economic Theory&Research; Microfinance;
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