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Enhancing capabilities through credit access: Creditworthiness as a signal of trustworthiness under asymmetric information

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  • Becchetti, Leonardo
  • Conzo, Pierluigi

Abstract

Creditworthiness and trustworthiness are almost synonyms because, under asymmetric information, the act of conferring a loan has the indirect effect of signaling the trustworthiness of the borrower. We test the creditworthiness/trustworthiness nexus in an investment game experiment on a sample of participants/non-participants in a microfinance program in Argentina and find that trustors give significantly more to (and believe they will receive more from) microfinance borrowers. The first- and second-order beliefs of trustees are also consistent with this picture. Our findings then show that MF participants appear more trustworthy and this may help microfinance to work. A related consequence is that, if (and only if) borrower's trustworthiness is not public information, the mere loan provision acts as a reputation enhancing signal increasing the borrower's attractiveness as a business partner. In such case we have a channel through which a private financial intermediary contributes to the provision of a public good like information, thereby reducing the adverse consequences of market failures on the creation of economic value.

Suggested Citation

  • Becchetti, Leonardo & Conzo, Pierluigi, 2011. "Enhancing capabilities through credit access: Creditworthiness as a signal of trustworthiness under asymmetric information," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(3-4), pages 265-278, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:pubeco:v:95:y:2011:i:3-4:p:265-278
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    Cited by:

    1. Leonardo Becchetti & Massimo Cermelli, 2018. "Civil economy: definition and strategies for sustainable well-living," International Review of Economics, Springer;Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations (HEIRS), vol. 65(3), pages 329-357, September.
    2. Bhuiyan, Muhammad Faress & Ivlevs, Artjoms, 2019. "Micro-entrepreneurship and subjective well-being: Evidence from rural Bangladesh," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 625-645.
    3. Davaadorj, Zagdbazar & Enkhtaivan, Bolortuya & Lu, Wenling, 2024. "The role of job titles in online peer-to-peer lending: An empirical investigation on skilled borrowers," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 41(C).
    4. Cozarenco, Anastasia & Szafarz, Ariane, 2020. "The regulation of prosocial lending: Are loan ceilings effective?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    5. Lucia Dalla Pellegrina & Damla Diriker & Paolo Landoni & Davide Moro & Mahinda Wijesiri, 2024. "Financial and social sustainability in the European microfinance sector," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 63(3), pages 1249-1292, October.
    6. Leonardo Becchetti, 2012. "Voting with the wallet," International Review of Economics, Springer;Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations (HEIRS), vol. 59(3), pages 245-268, September.
    7. Ha Ta & Terry L. Esper & Kenneth Ford & Sebastian Garcia‐Dastuge, 2018. "Trustworthiness Change and Relationship Continuity after Contract Breach in Financial Supply Chains," Journal of Supply Chain Management, Institute for Supply Management, vol. 54(4), pages 42-61, October.
    8. Leonardo Becchetti, 2013. "Ethical finance: an introduction," Chapters, in: Luigino Bruni & Stefano Zamagni (ed.), Handbook on the Economics of Reciprocity and Social Enterprise, chapter 13, pages 134-143, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    9. Jérémie Bertrand & Paul-Olivier Klein & Jean-Loup Soula, 2022. "Liquidity Creation and Trust Environment," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 62(3), pages 201-232, December.
    10. Pierluigi Conzo, 2018. "Natural Disasters and Social Preferences: The Effect of Tsunami-Memories on Cheating in Sri Lanka," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(10), pages 1912-1931, October.
    11. Aaron H. Anglin & Jeremy C. Short & David J. Ketchen Jr. & Thomas H. Allison & Aaron F. McKenny, 2020. "Third-Party Signals in Crowdfunded Microfinance: The Role of Microfinance Institutions," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 44(4), pages 623-644, July.
    12. Bertrand, Jérémie & Klein, Paul-Olivier & Pasiouras, Fotios, 2024. "National culture of secrecy and firms’ access to credit," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    13. Ana Paula Matias Gama & Ricardo Emanuel Correia & Mário Augusto & Fábio Duarte, 2023. "Third-party signals in crowdfunded microfinance: which microfinance institutions boost crowdfunding among refugee entrepreneurs?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 61(2), pages 559-586, August.
    14. Shahriar, Abu Zafar M. & Unda, Luisa A. & Alam, Quamrul, 2020. "Gender differences in the repayment of microcredit: The mediating role of trustworthiness," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    15. Leonardo Becchetti & Pierluigi Conzo, 2014. "The effects of microfinance on child schooling: a retrospective approach," Applied Financial Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(2), pages 89-106, January.
    16. Anastasia Cozarenco & Ariane Szafarz, 2024. "How to identify lending bias when the lender's goal is not profit?," Working Papers CEB 24-007, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • D03 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Behavioral Microeconomics: Underlying Principles
    • O16 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Financial Markets; Saving and Capital Investment; Corporate Finance and Governance

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