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Financial constraints and occupational choice in Thai villages

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  • Karaivanov, Alexander

Abstract

Financial constraints and entrepreneurship are key factors affecting economic performance in developing countries. I formulate and solve a model of occupational choice with moral hazard under three alternative financial market environments: savings only, borrowing and lending with default and moral hazard constrained insurance. I use computationally efficient techniques based on mechanism design, genetic algorithms and maximum likelihood to estimate and statistically test these models of financial constraints. Using occupational choice data from Thai villages I find evidence that the saving only regime is rejected in favor of regimes allowing for borrowing and/or insurance, especially in higher-wealth data stratifications. A direct test between the borrowing and insurance regimes reveals that neither can be rejected in favor of the other. Allowing ex-ante lotteries over wealth improves the explanatory power of the model. I also find evidence for differences in the best fitting regimes by region, wealth, and access to formal credit.

Suggested Citation

  • Karaivanov, Alexander, 2012. "Financial constraints and occupational choice in Thai villages," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(2), pages 201-220.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:deveco:v:97:y:2012:i:2:p:201-220
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2011.05.002
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    Cited by:

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    2. Nabamita Dutta & Russell Sobel, 2016. "Does corruption ever help entrepreneurship?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 47(1), pages 179-199, June.
    3. Boou Chen & Chunkai Zhao, 2021. "Poverty reduction in rural China: Does the digital finance matter?," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(12), pages 1-27, December.
    4. Shijun Chai & Li Zhou & Yang Chen, 2023. "Digital Finance and Entrepreneurial Return Rate: Effects, Mechanisms and Inequality," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, October.
    5. Karaivanov, Alexander & Yindok, Tenzin, 2022. "Involuntary entrepreneurship – Evidence from Thai urban data," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    6. Herrmann, Tabea & Leckcivilize, Attakrit & Zenker, Juliane, 2021. "The impact of cash transfers on child outcomes in rural Thailand: Evidence from a social pension reform," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 19(C).
    7. Robert M. Townsend & Alexander Karaivanov, 2008. "Enterprise Dynamics and Finance: Distinguishing Mechanism Design from Exogenously Incomplete Markets Models," 2008 Meeting Papers 846, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    8. Alexander Karaivanov & Robert M. Townsend, 2014. "Dynamic Financial Constraints: Distinguishing Mechanism Design From Exogenously Incomplete Regimes," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 82(3), pages 887-959, May.
    9. Magnus Hatlebakk, 2013. "Intergenerational determinants of occupational choice: The case of international labor migration from Nepal," CMI Working Papers 2, CMI (Chr. Michelsen Institute), Bergen, Norway.
    10. Alexander Karaivanov & Fernando Martin, 2015. "Dynamic Optimal Insurance and Lack of Commitment," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 18(2), pages 287-305, April.
    11. Chang’an Liang & Guoming Du & Zhaoda Cui & Bonoua Faye, 2022. "Does Digital Inclusive Finance Enhance the Creation of County Enterprises? Taking Henan Province as a Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-17, November.
    12. Chenjing Zhang & Qiaoge Li & Di Mao & Mancang Wang, 2023. "Research on the Threshold Effect of Internet Development on Regional Inclusive Finance in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-20, April.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Occupational choice; Financial constraints; Maximum likelihood;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • C52 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric Modeling - - - Model Evaluation, Validation, and Selection
    • D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design

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