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Liability Structure in Small-Scale Finance: Evidence from a Natural Experiment

Author

Listed:
  • Fenella Carpena
  • Shawn Cole
  • Jeremy Shapiro
  • Bilal Zia

Abstract

Microfinance, the provision of small individual and business loans, has experienced dramatic growth, reaching over 150 million borrowers worldwide. Much of the success of microfinance has been attributed to attempts to overcome the challenges of information asymmetries in uncollateralized lending. However, very little is known about the optimal contract structure of these loans, and there is substantial variation across lenders, even within a particular setting. This paper exploits a plausibly exogenous change in the liability structure offered by a microfinance program in India, which shifted from individual to group liability lending. We find evidence that the lending model matters: for the same borrower, the required monthly loan installments are 11 percent less likely to be missed under the group liability setting in comparison with individual liability. In addition, compulsory savings deposits are 20 percent less likely to be missed under group liability contracts. Copyright 2013, Oxford University Press.

Suggested Citation

  • Fenella Carpena & Shawn Cole & Jeremy Shapiro & Bilal Zia, 2013. "Liability Structure in Small-Scale Finance: Evidence from a Natural Experiment," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 27(3), pages 437-469.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:wbecrv:v:27:y:2013:i:3:p:437-469
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/wber/lhs031
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    Cited by:

    1. Thorsten Beck & Patrick Behr, 2017. "Individual versus Village Lending: Evidence from Montenegro," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(4), pages 67-87, November.
    2. de Quidt, Jonathan & Fetzer, Thiemo & Ghatak, Maitreesh, 2018. "Commercialization and the decline of joint liability microcredit," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 209-225.
    3. Lagarde, Mylène & Riumallo Herl, Carlos, 2025. "Better together? Group incentives and the demand for prevention," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    4. Dhami, Sanjit & Arshad, Junaid & al-Nowaihi, Ali, 2022. "Psychological and social motivations in microfinance contracts: Theory and evidence," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    5. Agarwal, Sumit & Tantri, Prasanna & Vishen, Nitin, 2025. "Does social capital positively influence loan performance even during a crisis?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    6. Mahreen Mahmud, 2020. "Repaying Microcredit Loans: A Natural Experiment on Liability Structure," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(6), pages 1161-1176, June.
    7. Francisco J Buera & Joseph P Kaboski & Yongseok Shin, 2021. "The Macroeconomics of Microfinance," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 88(1), pages 126-161.
    8. Orazio Attanasio & Britta Augsburg & Ralph De Haas, 2019. "Microcredit Contracts, Risk Diversification and Loan Take-Up," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 17(6), pages 1797-1842.
    9. Gharad Bryan & Dean Karlan & Jonathan Zinman, 2015. "Referrals: Peer Screening and Enforcement in a Consumer Credit Field Experiment," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 7(3), pages 174-204, August.
    10. Marc Labie & Carolina Laureti & Ariane Szafarz, 2013. "Flexible Products in Microfinance: Overcoming the Demand-Supply Mismatch," Working Papers CEB 13-044, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    11. de Quidt, Jonathan & Fetzer, Thiemo & Ghatak, Maitreesh, 2016. "Group lending without joint liability," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 217-236.
    12. Valentina Hartarska & Jingfang Zhang & Denis Nadolnyak, 2025. "Financial inclusion through specialization or diversification with group and individual loans in microfinance," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 68(6), pages 2767-2798, June.
    13. Ernest Liu & Benjamin N. Roth, 2020. "Contractual Restrictions and Debt Traps," Working Papers 2020-30, Princeton University. Economics Department..
    14. Attanasio, O.P. & Augsburg, B. & de Haas, R. & Fitzsimons, E. & Harmgart, H., 2013. "Group Lending or Individual Lending? Evidence from a Randomized Field Experiment in Rural Mongolia," Discussion Paper 2013-074, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    15. Orazio Attanasio & Britta Augsburg & Ralph De Haas & Emla Fitzsimons & Heike Harmgart, 2011. "Group lending or individual lending? Evidence from a randomised field experiment in Mongolia," IFS Working Papers W11/20, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    16. Aragón, Fernando M. & Karaivanov, Alexander & Krishnaswamy, Karuna, 2020. "Credit lines in microcredit: Short-term evidence from a randomized controlled trial in India," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    17. Cristián Pinto, 2015. "The Effect of Labor Market Flexibility on Microfinance Institutions Performance: International Evidence," Serie Working Papers 21, Universidad del Desarrollo, School of Business and Economics.
    18. Berns, John P. & Shahriar, Abu Zafar M. & Unda, Luisa A., 2021. "Delegated monitoring in crowdfunded microfinance: Evidence from Kiva," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    19. Tchakoute Tchuigoua, Hubert & Soumaré, Issouf & Hessou, Hélyoth T.S., 2020. "Lending and business cycle: Evidence from microfinance institutions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 1-12.
    20. Giné, Xavier & Karlan, Dean S., 2014. "Group versus individual liability: Short and long term evidence from Philippine microcredit lending groups," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 65-83.

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