Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/163072 
Year of Publication: 
2017
Series/Report no.: 
WIDER Working Paper No. 2017/101
Publisher: 
The United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER), Helsinki
Abstract: 
Whereas most research into microfinance tends to focus on the impact of access to such services, very little pays attention to what happens over time once a person becomes a client. The paper aims at analysing the conditions of loan renewals as most microfinance institutions foster client retention and apply a progressive lending policy. Moreover, as previous studies have shown that women are not always favoured regarding loan amounts granted, the progressive lending policy is analysed from a gender perspective. The work is based on a case study about the main Tunisian microfinance institution using longitudinal client data. The analysis focuses on the growth rate of amounts granted over credit cycles. As some clients leave the microfinance institution after one or several loans, we follow a procedure enabling us to correct the selection bias with panel data. The results show that, all things being equal, the growth rates tend to increase over cycles, probably reflecting an increasingly trusting relationship between the microfinance institution and its clients. However, this increase is slower for women, revealing a less favourable progressive lending policy towards women. Consequently, as women already start from a lower position, initial inequalities cannot be counterbalanced.
Subjects: 
gender
microfinance
inequalities
credit cycles
JEL: 
G21
D63
O1
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
ISBN: 
978-92-9256-325-7
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size
899.46 kB





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.