IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/diw/diwwpp/dp715.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Credit for What?: Informal Credit as a Coping Strategy of Market Women in Northern Ghana

Author

Listed:
  • Kati Schindler

Abstract

This paper explores the use of informal credit as a strategy for managing risks by market women in northern Ghana. A broad concept of the costs of risk management strategies is introduced and encompasses both a time and monetary dimension. Based on qualitative data, the analysis reveals that market women invest a considerable amount of time in maintaining complex networks of informal credit providers to insure their access to credit once a shock occurs. Informal credit involves high transaction costs and prevents market women from growing out of poverty in the long term.

Suggested Citation

  • Kati Schindler, 2007. "Credit for What?: Informal Credit as a Coping Strategy of Market Women in Northern Ghana," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 715, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp715
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.diw.de/documents/publikationen/73/diw_01.c.61912.de/dp715.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David Mushinski, 1999. "An analysis of offer functions of banks and credit unions in Guatemala," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(2), pages 88-112.
    2. Aryeetey, Ernest & Udry, Christopher, 1997. "The Characteristics of Informal Financial Markets in Sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 6(1), pages 161-203, March.
    3. Tsai, Kellee S., 2004. "Imperfect Substitutes: The Local Political Economy of Informal Finance and Microfinance in Rural China and India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 32(9), pages 1487-1507, September.
    4. Jin-Long Liu & Ching-Chun Hsu, 2004. "Economies of scale, gender discrimination, and cost of children," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 11(6), pages 377-382.
    5. Kochar, Anjini, 1997. "An empirical investigation of rationing constraints in rural credit markets in India," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(2), pages 339-371, August.
    6. Steve Boucher & Catherine Guirkinger, 2007. "Risk, Wealth, and Sectoral Choice in Rural Credit Markets," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 89(4), pages 991-1004.
    7. Jain, Sanjay & Mansuri, Ghazala, 2003. "A little at a time: the use of regularly scheduled repayments in microfinance programs," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(1), pages 253-279, October.
    8. Udry, Christopher R. & Conley, Timothy G., 2004. "Social Networks in Ghana," Center Discussion Papers 28488, Yale University, Economic Growth Center.
    9. Baydas, Mayada M. & Bahloul, Zakaria & Adams, Dale W., 1995. "Informal finance in Egypt: "Banks" within banks," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 23(4), pages 651-661, April.
    10. Gosling, Amanda & Karagiannaki, Eleni, 2004. "Intra-Household Allocation and the Living Standards of the Elderly in Greece," CEPR Discussion Papers 4776, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    11. Claudia Olivetti & Stefania Albanesi, 2005. "Home Production, Market Production and the Gender Wage Gap: Incentives and Expectations," Boston University - Department of Economics - Working Papers Series WP2005-013, Boston University - Department of Economics.
    12. Sonia Bhalotra, 2004. "Early Childhood Investments in Human Capital: Parental Resources and Preferences," Bristol Economics Discussion Papers 04/562, School of Economics, University of Bristol, UK.
    13. Suen, Wing & Chan, William & Zhang, Junsen, 2003. "Marital transfer and intra-household allocation: a Nash-bargaining analysis," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 52(1), pages 133-146, September.
    14. Martin Browning & Valérie Lechene, 2001. "Caring and Sharing: Tests Between Alternative Models of Intra-household Allocation," Discussion Papers 01-07, University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics.
    15. Mikkel Barslund & Finn Tarp, 2006. "Rural Credit in Vietnam," Discussion Papers 06-03, University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics.
    16. Udry, Christopher, 1990. "Credit Markets in Northern Nigeria: Credit as Insurance in a Rural Economy," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 4(3), pages 251-269, September.
    17. Bell, Clive & Srinivasan, T N & Udry, Christopher, 1997. "Rationing, Spillover, and Interlinking in Credit Markets: The Case of Rural Punjab," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 49(4), pages 557-585, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Cull, Robert & Gan, Li & Gao, Nan & Xu, Lixin Colin, 2022. "Social capital, finance, and consumption: Evidence from a representative sample of Chinese households," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    2. Simba, Amon & Martins Ogundana, Oyedele & Braune, Eric & Dana, Léo–Paul, 2023. "Community financing in entrepreneurship: A focus on women entrepreneurs in the developing world," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    3. Scheiterle, Lilli & Birner, Regina, 2021. "The Myth of the Market Queens: a Case Study of Women and Power in Ghanaian Markets," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315924, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    4. Jones, Kelly & Gong, Erick, 2021. "Precautionary savings and shock-coping behaviors: Effects of promoting mobile bank savings on transactional sex in Kenya," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    5. Ganle, John Kuumuori & Afriyie, Kwadwo & Segbefia, Alexander Yao, 2015. "Microcredit: Empowerment and Disempowerment of Rural Women in Ghana," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 335-345.
    6. Kwadwo Afriyie & John Kuumuori Ganle & Alexander Yao Segbefia & Pauline Kamau & Grace Wamue-Ngare, 2020. "Contextual Factors Which Affect the Success of Microcredit Programs Among Women in Ghana," Journal of Developing Societies, , vol. 36(2), pages 229-254, June.
    7. James Heintz & Lynda Pickbourn, 2012. "The Determinants of Selection into Non-agricultural Self-employment in Ghana," Margin: The Journal of Applied Economic Research, National Council of Applied Economic Research, vol. 6(2), pages 181-209, May.
    8. Schicks, Jessica, 2014. "Over-Indebtedness in Microfinance – An Empirical Analysis of Related Factors on the Borrower Level," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 301-324.
    9. Godfred Boateng & Vincent Kuuire & Mengieng Ung & Jonathan Amoyaw & Frederick Armah & Isaac Luginaah, 2014. "Women’s Empowerment in the Context of Millennium Development Goal 3: A Case Study of Married Women in Ghana," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 115(1), pages 137-158, January.
    10. Ha van Dung, 2014. "Short-term precaution, insurance and saving mechanisms in rural Vietnam," Working Papers CIE 82, Paderborn University, CIE Center for International Economics.
    11. Haruna Abdallah Imam & Hardy Tamimu r, 2015. "'Life beyond the Walls of my Hometown': Social Safety Networks as a Coping Strategy for Northern Migrants in Accra," Asian Journal of Social Sciences and Management Studies, Asian Online Journal Publishing Group, vol. 2(1), pages 25-43.
    12. Mirko Bendig & Lena Giesbert & Susan Steiner, 2009. "Savings, Credit, and Insurance: Household Demand for Formal Financial Services in Rural Ghana," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series 7609, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    13. Ahmed Tufeiru, 2014. "The Nexus of Female Capital and North–South Labor Migration in Ghana," Journal of Developing Societies, , vol. 30(1), pages 91-114, March.
    14. Natéwindé Sawadogo & Youmanli Ouoba, 2023. "COVID-19, food coping strategies and households resilience: the case of informal sector in Burkina Faso," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 15(4), pages 1041-1056, August.
    15. Linh D. Nguyen & Thanh T. Nguyen & Tung T. Nguyen & Ulrike Grote, 2025. "Health shock and indebtedness: Does having access to health insurance reduce the reliance on borrowing as a shock coping strategy?," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 47(2), pages 823-862, May.
    16. Evans Sumabe Batung & Kamaldeen Mohammed & Moses Mosonsieyiri Kansanga & Hanson Nyantakyi-Frimpong & Isaac Luginaah, 2023. "Credit access and perceived climate change resilience of smallholder farmers in semi-arid northern Ghana," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(1), pages 321-350, January.
    17. Salia, Samuel & Hussain, Javed & Tingbani, Ishmael & Kolade, Oluwaseun, 2017. "Is women empowerment a zero Sum game? Unintended Consequences of microfinance for Women’s empowerment in Ghana," MPRA Paper 82895, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 23 Aug 2017.
    18. World Bank, 2011. "Tackling Poverty in Northern Ghana," World Bank Publications - Reports 2755, The World Bank Group.
    19. Windinkonté Séogo, 2022. "Preventing households from food insecurity in rural Burkina Faso: Does nonfarm income matter?," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 38(4), pages 1032-1047, October.
    20. Tilman Brück & Kati Schindler, 2008. "The Impact of Conflict and Fragility on Households: A Conceptual Framework with Reference to Widows," WIDER Working Paper Series RP2008-83, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Honghui Li & Masato Hiwatari, 2025. "Formal and informal finance in china and its relationship to household wealth: an empirical analysis based on micro data," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 5(7), pages 1-27, July.
    2. Mekdim D. Regassa & Mohammed B. Degnet & Mequanint B. Melesse, 2023. "Access to credit and heterogeneous effects on agricultural technology adoption: Evidence from large rural surveys in Ethiopia," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 71(2), pages 231-253, June.
    3. Madestam, Andreas, 2014. "Informal finance: A theory of moneylenders," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 157-174.
    4. Boucher, Stephen R. & Guirkinger, Catherine & Trivelli, Carolina, 2006. "Direct Elicitation of Credit Constraints: Conceptual and Practical Issues with an Empirical Application to Peruvian Agriculture," Working Papers 6883, University of California, Davis, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics.
    5. Islam, Asadul & Nguyen, Chau & Smyth, Russell, 2015. "Does microfinance change informal lending in village economies? Evidence from Bangladesh," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 141-156.
    6. Abhirupa Das & Uday Bhanu Sinha, 2024. "Microfinance institution and moneylenders in a segmented rural credit market," Indian Growth and Development Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 17(3), pages 441-469, October.
    7. Conning, Jonathan & Udry, Christopher, 2007. "Rural Financial Markets in Developing Countries," Handbook of Agricultural Economics, in: Robert Evenson & Prabhu Pingali (ed.), Handbook of Agricultural Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 56, pages 2857-2908, Elsevier.
    8. P. I. Omede, 2020. "A Tale of Two Markets: How Lower-end Borrowers Are Punished for Bank Regulatory Failures in Nigeria," Journal of Consumer Policy, Springer, vol. 43(3), pages 519-542, September.
    9. Boucher, Stephen R. & Guirkinger, Catherine, 2007. "AJAE Appendix: Risk, Wealth and Sectoral Choice in Rural Credit Markets," American Journal of Agricultural Economics APPENDICES, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 89(4), pages 1-4, November.
    10. Martin Petrick, 2005. "Empirical measurement of credit rationing in agriculture: a methodological survey," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 33(2), pages 191-203, September.
    11. Yusuf Ibrahim Kofarmata & Shri Dewi Applanaidu & Sallahuddin Hassan, 2016. "Determinants of Demand for Credit: A Conceptual Review," Asian Journal of Economics and Empirical Research, Asian Online Journal Publishing Group, vol. 3(1), pages 6-10.
    12. Guirkinger, Catherine, 2008. "Understanding the Coexistence of Formal and Informal Credit Markets in Piura, Peru," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(8), pages 1436-1452, August.
    13. Kazunari TSUKADA & Takayuki HIGASHIKATA & Kazushi TAKAHASHI, 2010. "Microfinance Penetration And Its Influence On Credit Choice In Indonesia: Evidence From A Household Panel Survey," The Developing Economies, Institute of Developing Economies, vol. 48(1), pages 102-127, March.
    14. Steve Boucher & Catherine Guirkinger, 2007. "Risk, Wealth, and Sectoral Choice in Rural Credit Markets," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 89(4), pages 991-1004.
    15. Jain, Sanjay, 1999. "Symbiosis vs. crowding-out: the interaction of formal and informal credit markets in developing countries," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(2), pages 419-444, August.
    16. Mukasa Adamon N. & Anthony M. Simpasa & Adeleke Oluwole Salami, 2017. "Working Paper 247 - Credit constraints and farm productivity: Micro-level evidence from smallholder farmers in Ethiopia," Working Paper Series 2356, African Development Bank.
    17. Giné, Xavier, 2011. "Access to capital in rural Thailand: An estimated model of formal vs. informal credit," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(1), pages 16-29, September.
    18. Foltz, Jeremy D., 2004. "Credit market access and profitability in Tunisian agriculture," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 30(3), pages 229-240, May.
    19. Shee, Apurba & Pervez, Shadayen & Turvey, Calum G., 2018. "Heterogeneous Impacts of Credit Rationing on Agricultural Productivity: Evidence from Kenya," 2018 Annual Meeting, August 5-7, Washington, D.C. 274224, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    20. Uduakobong Inyang, 2022. "Risks to credit access in a developing economy:Focus on household characteristics and the choice of credit in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria," International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 11(2), pages 228-240, March.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Africa; Ghana; informal credit; risk management; women;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • O17 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements
    • D13 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Production and Intrahouse Allocation

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp715. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Bibliothek (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/diwbede.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.