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Microfinance and happiness

Author

Listed:
  • Leonardo Becchetti

    (Associazione Italiana per la Cultura della Cooperazione e del Non Profit)

  • Pierluigi Conzo

    (Associazione Italiana per la Cultura della Cooperazione e del Non Profit)

Abstract

Microfinance institutions are used to claim that their impact goes beyond money since rescuing from exclusion uncollateralized poor borrowers significantly affects their dignity, self-esteem, social recognition and, through it, life satisfaction. Our paper aims to verify indirectly this claim by evaluating whether access to microfinance loans has significant impact on life satisfaction beyond its indirect impact via income changes. Our empirical findings on a sample of poor borrowers in the suburbs of Buenos Aires show that, after controlling for survivorship bias, the number of credit cycles has a significant and positive effect on life satisfaction.

Suggested Citation

  • Leonardo Becchetti & Pierluigi Conzo, 2010. "Microfinance and happiness," AICCON Working Papers 69-2010, Associazione Italiana per la Cultura della Cooperazione e del Non Profit.
    • Handle: RePEc:ris:aiccon:2010_069
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    Cited by:

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    2. Agbodji, Akoete Ega & Batana, Yele Maweki & Ouedraogo, Denis, 2013. "Gender inequality in multidimensional welfare deprivation in west Africa : the case of Burkina Faso and Togo," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6522, The World Bank.
    3. Martin Rode, 2013. "Do Good Institutions Make Citizens Happy, or Do Happy Citizens Build Better Institutions?," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 14(5), pages 1479-1505, October.
    4. Anna-Maria Kanzola & Konstantina Papaioannou & Demosthenes G. Kollias & Panagiotis E. Petrakis, 2024. "State’s Role in Income Inequality: Social Preferences and Life Satisfaction," International Advances in Economic Research, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 30(3), pages 279-297, August.
    5. Panagiotis E. Petrakis & Anna-Maria Kanzola, 2022. "On the Micro-Foundations of Creative Economy: Life Satisfaction and Social Identity," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-17, April.

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    Keywords

    microfinance; happiness; impact study;
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