Competition and microcredit interest rates: international evidence

<p>The limited number of existing papers that link competition among microfinance institutions (MFIs) and microcredit interest rates, provide inconclusive and counterintuitive results. This paper uses data from 1997 MFIs operating in 109 countries between the years 2003 and 2016 to construct t...

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Main Author: Moh’d Al-Azzam (14150100) (author)
Other Authors: Christopher Parmeter (14150103) (author)
Published: 2019
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author Moh’d Al-Azzam (14150100)
author2 Christopher Parmeter (14150103)
author2_role author
author_facet Moh’d Al-Azzam (14150100)
Christopher Parmeter (14150103)
author_role author
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Moh’d Al-Azzam (14150100)
Christopher Parmeter (14150103)
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2019-09-03T06:00:00Z
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv 10.1007/s00181-019-01766-6
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Competition_and_microcredit_interest_rates_international_evidence/21596928
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv CC BY 4.0
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Economics
Applied economics
Human society
Sociology
Microfinance
Competition
Lerner Index
Microcredit interest rates
For-profit MFIs
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Competition and microcredit interest rates: international evidence
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv Text
Journal contribution
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
text
contribution to journal
description <p>The limited number of existing papers that link competition among microfinance institutions (MFIs) and microcredit interest rates, provide inconclusive and counterintuitive results. This paper uses data from 1997 MFIs operating in 109 countries between the years 2003 and 2016 to construct three measures of competition and evaluate their impacts on interest rates. These measures reflect three different aspects of competition: geographical expansion, market concentration, and the marginal pricing. While the results for market concentration are inconclusive, the results for both geographical expansion and marginal pricing show an economically strong impact of competition on interest rates. Specifically, regardless of whether an MFI is a for-profit or nonprofit, we find meaningful evidence that competition reduces interest rates. Our findings evince that lower interest rates are needed if the microfinance movement is to continue to be relied on as an effective means to alleviate poverty.</p><h2>Other Information</h2> <p> Published in: Empirical Economics<br> License: <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0" target="_blank">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0</a><br>See article on publisher's website: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00181-019-01766-6" target="_blank">http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00181-019-01766-6</a></p>
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
id Manara2_b21e0c2df3370e60efbbb754d4e301ba
identifier_str_mv 10.1007/s00181-019-01766-6
network_acronym_str Manara2
network_name_str Manara2
oai_identifier_str oai:figshare.com:article/21596928
publishDate 2019
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rights_invalid_str_mv CC BY 4.0
spelling Competition and microcredit interest rates: international evidenceMoh’d Al-Azzam (14150100)Christopher Parmeter (14150103)EconomicsApplied economicsHuman societySociologyMicrofinanceCompetitionLerner IndexMicrocredit interest ratesFor-profit MFIs<p>The limited number of existing papers that link competition among microfinance institutions (MFIs) and microcredit interest rates, provide inconclusive and counterintuitive results. This paper uses data from 1997 MFIs operating in 109 countries between the years 2003 and 2016 to construct three measures of competition and evaluate their impacts on interest rates. These measures reflect three different aspects of competition: geographical expansion, market concentration, and the marginal pricing. While the results for market concentration are inconclusive, the results for both geographical expansion and marginal pricing show an economically strong impact of competition on interest rates. Specifically, regardless of whether an MFI is a for-profit or nonprofit, we find meaningful evidence that competition reduces interest rates. Our findings evince that lower interest rates are needed if the microfinance movement is to continue to be relied on as an effective means to alleviate poverty.</p><h2>Other Information</h2> <p> Published in: Empirical Economics<br> License: <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0" target="_blank">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0</a><br>See article on publisher's website: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00181-019-01766-6" target="_blank">http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00181-019-01766-6</a></p>2019-09-03T06:00:00ZTextJournal contributioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersiontextcontribution to journal10.1007/s00181-019-01766-6https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Competition_and_microcredit_interest_rates_international_evidence/21596928CC BY 4.0info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:figshare.com:article/215969282019-09-03T06:00:00Z
spellingShingle Competition and microcredit interest rates: international evidence
Moh’d Al-Azzam (14150100)
Economics
Applied economics
Human society
Sociology
Microfinance
Competition
Lerner Index
Microcredit interest rates
For-profit MFIs
status_str publishedVersion
title Competition and microcredit interest rates: international evidence
title_full Competition and microcredit interest rates: international evidence
title_fullStr Competition and microcredit interest rates: international evidence
title_full_unstemmed Competition and microcredit interest rates: international evidence
title_short Competition and microcredit interest rates: international evidence
title_sort Competition and microcredit interest rates: international evidence
topic Economics
Applied economics
Human society
Sociology
Microfinance
Competition
Lerner Index
Microcredit interest rates
For-profit MFIs