Are Women “Naturally” Better Credit Risks in Microcredit? Evidence from Field Experiments in Patriarchal and Matrilineal Societies in Bangladesh

Content Provider	Semantic Scholar
Author	Chakravarty, Sugato Iqbal, S. M. Zahid Shahriar, Abu Zafar M.
Copyright Year	2013
Abstract	We use controlled experiments to identify the proximal causes of gender differences in the repayment of microcredit. We recruit male and female subjects from a patriarchal and a matrilineal community in Bangladesh, who live in the same villages, and find that the female subjects have a greater willingness to repay microcredit in every society irrespective of the type of loan. Thus, the observed gender differences in the repayment of microcredit cannot be explained by the different roles that women play in different societies. In other words, women are “naturally” better credit risks than men in microcredit. We confirm that our results are not driven by the common culture and values among our subjects that stem from geographical proximity.
File Format	PDF HTM / HTML
Alternate Webpage(s)	https://www.aeaweb.org/conference/2014/retrieve.php?pdfid=642
Language	English
Access Restriction	Open
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article