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

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.

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File URL: http://www.diw.de/documents/publikationen/73/diw_01.c.61912.de/dp715.pdf
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Paper provided by DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research in its series Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin with number 715.

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Length: 28 p.
Date of creation: 2007
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp715
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Keywords: Africa; Ghana; informal credit; risk management; women;

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Find related papers by 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

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  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. 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.
  3. Guirkinger, Catherine & Boucher, Stephen R., 2004. "Risk, Wealth And Sectoral Choice In Rural Credit Markets," 2004 Annual meeting, August 1-4, Denver, CO 20077, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
  4. 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.
  5. 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 (CSAE), vol. 6(1), pages 161-203, March.
  6. Sonia Bhalotra, 2004. "Early Childhood Investments in Human Capital: Parental Resources and Preferences," Bristol Economics Discussion Papers 04/562, Department of Economics, University of Bristol, UK.
  7. Christopher Udry & Timothy G. Conley, 2004. "Social Networks in Ghana," Working Papers 888, Economic Growth Center, Yale University.
  8. Stefania Albanesi & Claudia Olivetti, 2007. "Home production, market production and the gender wage gap: Incentives and expectations," Discussion Papers 0607-10, Columbia University, Department of Economics.
  9. 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.
  10. 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.
  11. Udry, Christopher, 1990. "Credit Markets in Northern Nigeria: Credit as Insurance in a Rural Economy," World Bank Economic Review, World Bank Group, vol. 4(3), pages 251-69, September.
  12. 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.
  13. 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.
  14. 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 557-85, October.
  15. Valerie Lechene & Martin Browning, 2001. "Caring and Sharing: Tests Between Alternative Models of Intra-Household Allocation," Economics Series Working Papers 70, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
  16. 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.
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Cited by:

  1. Jessica Schicks, 2012. "Over-Indebtedness in Microfinance – An Empirical Analysis of Related Factors on the Borrower Level," Working Papers CEB 12-017, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
  2. Ha van Dung, 2014. "Short-term precaution, insurance and saving mechanisms in rural Vietnam," Working Papers CIE 82, University of Paderborn, CIE Center for International Economics.
  3. Bruck, Tilman & Schindler, Kati, 2008. "The Impact of Conflict and Fragility on Households: A Conceptual Framework with Reference to Widows," Working Paper Series RP2008/83, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
  4. 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, Springer, vol. 115(1), pages 137-158, January.
  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. World Bank, 2011. "Tackling Poverty in Northern Ghana," World Bank Other Operational Studies 2755, The World Bank.

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