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Are poor people credit-constrained or myopic? Evidence from a South African panel

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  • Berg, Erlend

Abstract

Credit constraints are an almost ubiquitous assumption in development economics. Yet direct evidence for credit constraints is limited, and many observations consistent with credit constraints are equally compatible with myopic (non-forward-looking) consumption or precautionary saving. Using household panel data and a source of widely anticipated income in South Africa, this paper tests and rejects the standard consumption model with perfect capital markets. Then, myopic consumption and precautionary saving are tested as alternative explanations for the observed jumps in expenditure. The standard model with credit constraints cannot be rejected in favour of myopic consumption or precautionary saving.

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  • Berg, Erlend, 2013. "Are poor people credit-constrained or myopic? Evidence from a South African panel," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 195-205.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:deveco:v:101:y:2013:i:c:p:195-205
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2012.10.002
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    8. Dillon Brian, 2016. "Working Paper 243 - Selling crops early to pay for school: A large-scale natural experiment in Malawi," Working Paper Series 2351, African Development Bank.
    9. Kopper, Sarah A., 2018. "Agricultural labor markets and fertilizer demand: Intensification is not a single factor problem for non-separable households," 2018 Annual Meeting, August 5-7, Washington, D.C. 274184, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
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    11. Helena Ting & Martina Bozzola & Timothy Swanson, 2020. "Evaluating the propensity to save in South Africa using weather-income relationship," CIES Research Paper series 49-2017, Centre for International Environmental Studies, The Graduate Institute.
    12. Leandro De Magalhães & Dongya Koh & Raül Santaeulàlia-Llopis, 2016. "Consumption and Expenditure in Sub-Saharan Africa," Bristol Economics Discussion Papers 16/677, School of Economics, University of Bristol, UK, revised 07 Oct 2016.
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    14. Roxana Gutiérrez-Romero, 2017. "How does inequality affect long-run growth?," Working Papers 84, Queen Mary, University of London, School of Business and Management, Centre for Globalisation Research.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Credit constraints; Household consumption;

    JEL classification:

    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • H55 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Social Security and Public Pensions
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • O16 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Financial Markets; Saving and Capital Investment; Corporate Finance and Governance

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