|
on Microfinance |
| By: | Azcue, Pablo; Constantinescu, Corina; Flores-Contró, José Miguel (Université catholique de Louvain, LIDAM/ISBA, Belgium); Muler, Nora |
| Abstract: | Design and implementation of appropriate social protection strategies is one of the main targets of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 1: No Poverty. Cash transfer (CT) programmes are considered one of the main social protection strategies and an instrument for achieving SDG 1. Targeting consists of establishing eligibility criteria for beneficiaries of CT programmes. In low-income countries, where resources are limited, proper targeting of CTs is essential for an efficient use of resources. Given the growing importance of microinsurance as a complementary tool to social protection strategies, this study examines its role as a supplement to CT programmes. In this article, we adopt the piecewise-deterministic Markov process introduced in Kovacevic and Pflug (2011) to model the capital of a household, which when exposed to proportional capital losses (in contrast to the classical Cramér–Lundberg model) can push them into the poverty area. Striving for cost-effective CT programmes, we optimise the expected discounted cost of keeping the household’s capital above the poverty line by means of injection of capital (as a direct capital transfer). Using dynamic programming techniques, we derive the Hamilton–Jacobi–Bellman (HJB) equation associated with the optimal control problem of determining the amount of capital to inject over time. We show that this equation admits a viscosity solution that can be approximated numerically. Moreover, in certain special cases, we obtain closed-form expressions for the solution. Numerical examples show that there is an optimal level of injection above the poverty threshold, suggesting that efficient use of resources is achieved when CTs are preventive rather than reactive, since injecting capital into households when their capital levels are above the poverty line is less costly than to do so only when it falls below the threshold. |
| Keywords: | Cash transfers ; microinsurance ; proportional losses ; optimal control ; HJB equations |
| Date: | 2026–04–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aiz:louvad:2026010 |
| By: | Bisimwa Rusaki, Moïse; Binja Ndeko, Guillaume; Xavier, Lushombo Mupunga; Binja Bujiriri, David; Ganywamulume Bazamuka, Jean-Claude; Ompova Ganza, Chancelier; Cizungu Bazibuhe, Désiré; Ushindi Muvanga, Marthe |
| Abstract: | This study shows that VSLAs contribute to the socio-economic development of rural households in Bugorhe by facilitating access to microcredit and income-generating activities. Despite repayment delays, irregular contributions, and lack of public support, they remain a key tool for financial empowerment. |
| Keywords: | Contribution, Village Associations, Savings, Credit, Socio-economic, Microcredit |
| JEL: | D14 G21 I32 O16 O18 |
| Date: | 2026–01–30 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:128694 |
| By: | OECD |
| Abstract: | This paper evaluates the Small Credit Fund (Fondo Piccolo Credito), a regional financial instrument introduced by the Lazio Region (Italy) to address credit market gaps faced by micro and small enterprises. Using administrative data for 2017–2023 and a difference in differences approach, the evaluation finds strong financial additionality: subsidised loans increased long term debt without crowding out other financing. The programme improved firm survival and supported higher investment, particularly among smaller and more financially constrained firms. Short term declines in profitability and credit ratings highlight temporary trade offs during the investment and repayment phase. The paper concludes with recommendations to refine programme design, targeting and monitoring, with lessons for similar instruments across OECD countries. |
| Keywords: | credit constraints, Italy, Lazio, policy evaluation, regional development, Small business finance |
| JEL: | G21 G28 H81 L26 O16 |
| Date: | 2026–06–15 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:cfeaaa:2026/08-en |