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on Microfinance |
| By: | Djihad, Tria; Harun, Mukaramah; Alam, Md. Mahmudul (Universiti Utara Malaysia) |
| Abstract: | National governments and their development partners have considered microcredit as a strategic tool for vulnerable populations. Easy access to finance increases the client's ability to invest and allows clients to use resources to change their behaviour, increase their business opportunities and create employment. This paper aims to review studies that focused on microcredit and employment issues affecting beneficiaries, including gender-based employment creation and the informal sector. Through a systematic search of electronic databases and keywords to identify relevant studies, 40 core articles are identified for the period 1998-2021. The results indicate the significant impacts of microcredit on women's employment creation and business revenue of microenterprises in the informal sector. Moreover, a few studies set out to integrate gender employment creation and the informal sector with reference to microcredit. A framework is proposed to address the relationship between employment structure and microcredit. Finally, this study recommends developing a financial social accounting matrix and run empirical analysis on macro modelling such as input-output or general equilibrium modelling. Doing so will help obtain better understanding of how microcredit participation is associated with employment creation in different sectors and different types of household groups. |
| Date: | 2022–03–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:ux4b6&r=mfd |
| By: | Sommarat Chantarat; Chayanee Chawanote; Lathaporn Ratanavararak; Chonnakan Rittinon; Boontida Sa-ngimnet; Narongrit Adultananusak |
| Abstract: | This paper aims to explore drivers and dynamics of Thai agricultural households’ vicious cycle of debt, currently impeding their development prospects. We use unique combination of nationwide representative survey of 720 households and longitudinal administrative and financial account data from the farmer registration, the Bank of Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) and the National Credit Bureau (NCB) to reflect households’ financial problems from the lens of monthly income and expenditure flows, their financial attitudes and use of financial services from all sources to smooth consumption and debt dynamics and repayment behavior. The paper also tries to renew our understanding since Siamwalla et al. (1990) on the economic problems in Thai rural financial market and attempts to identify adverse impacts of debt moratorium policies, which are among the country’s most extensive policies aiming to help Thai agricultural households. The unique granularity and coverage of our data allow us to provide better understanding of the dynamics of problems and the heterogenous patterns across households – necessary to shed some lights for the redesign of rural financial system and sustainable farmers’ debt policies. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural households; Financial behavior; Household debt; Household debt; Policies; Rural financial market; Thailand |
| JEL: | D82 G20 G28 O12 O16 Q12 Q14 |
| Date: | 2023–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pui:dpaper:204&r=mfd |
| By: | Purva Khera (International Monetary Fund); Ratna Sahay (International Monetary Fund); Sumiko Ogawa (International Monetary Fund); Mahima Vasishth (University of California); Ratna Sahay (International Monetary Fund) |
| Abstract: | While digital financial services have made access to finance easier, faster, and less costly, helping to broaden digital financial inclusion, its impact on gender gaps varies across countries. Moreover, women leaders in the fintech industry, although growing, remain scarce. This paper explores the interaction between ‘women’ and ‘fintech’ by examining: (i) the role of women leaders on firm-level performance in the fintech industry; and (ii) the determinants of gender gaps in the usage of digital services to better understand the crosscountry differences. Results indicate that greater gender diversity in the executive board is associated with better performance of fintech firms. With regard to determinants of the gender gaps in the usage of digital financial services, we find that higher financial and digital literacy of women is associated with lower gender gaps in digital financial inclusion, and that socio-cultural factors also play a key role. |
| Keywords: | Firm performance, Women leaders, Digital financial inclusion, Financial literacy, Digital literacy |
| JEL: | J16 L25 G53 |
| Date: | 2023–03–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nca:ncaerw:146&r=mfd |