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Public access to housing is a challenge for a large number of societies and follows a great number of limitations. Here, we test several SMS-interventions aiming at motivating people to get information on affordable loans for housing options actually available to them. We randomly assigned 6,247 people to receive an SMS inviting them to get information about government backed housing loans for which they were already eligible. SMSs followed one of 14 possible nudges including “simple” nudges (e.g., messages personalized with the recipient's name or mentioning a social norm) and “bundled” nudges (combining personalization with another simple nudge). We observed SMS response rates (i.e., responding to sign up for receiving more information) according to which nudge was assigned. No other independent variable was considered. While most nudges were more effective than a control SMS, we observed significant variation across nudges on their ability to elicit responses from users. Combinations of multiple nudges were more successful in behavior elicitation than simple nudges. We discuss the possible implications of “single” or “bundled” SMS on response rates and as an effective tool of behavior change.

Asymmetric information increases the credit rationing of micro-enterprises. Lender–borrower relationships help to provide this information, thereby increasing the availability of loans. This study aims to investigate the relationship between micro-lenders and micro clients. It is accomplished by describing how such relationships are developed, and analyzing these relationships' impact on the availability and credit term using multivariate regression. The results showed that the strength of lender–borrower relationships positively impacted credit access, but it did not significantly impact the credit term. Furthermore, the amount of income and loan purpose, as the proxies of business characteristics, negatively impacted credit access. These results highlight the critical role of the lender–borrower relationship and business characteristics in the risk management strategy and the sustainability of microfinance institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inability of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to access funds from financial institutions has been identified as one of the major problems limiting their expansion horizons. This study assesses the criteria and mechanisms used by financial institutions when granting loans to SMEs. The data were sourced from the relevant financial institutions and analyzed by using different statistical tools. One of the findings revealed that the financial ratio and the internal control system accounted for 28.7% of the part of the conditions for granting loans to SMEs. Similarly, good working capital and the ease of asset conversion accounted for 94.5% of the criteria used by financial institutions to extend credits/loans to SMEs. Also, the educational background of SMEs’ operators significantly influenced the financial institutions’ choice of SMEs to finance. Based on these findings, the study recommends that there is a need for SMEs’ operators to align their business activities with financial institutions’ lending criteria.

The inability of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to access funds from financial institutions has been identified as one of the major problems limiting their expansion horizons. This study assesses the criteria and mechanisms used by financial institutions when granting loans to SMEs. The data were sourced from the relevant financial institutions and analyzed by using different statistical tools. One of the findings revealed that the financial ratio and the internal control system accounted for 28.7% of the part of the conditions for granting loans to SMEs. Similarly, good working capital and the ease of asset conversion accounted for 94.5% of the criteria used by financial institutions to extend credits/loans to SMEs. Also, the educational background of SMEs' operators significantly influenced the financial institutions' choice of SMEs to finance. Based on these findings, the study recommends that there is a need for SMEs' operators to align their business activities with financial institutions' lending criteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the first stage of the Kredit Usaha Rakyat (KUR) programme, the guaranteed microcredit programme for supporting the development of SMEs in Indonesia. KUR is a partial credit guarantee programme that helps to fulfil the collateral requirement hindering SMEs from accessing credit. By gaining access to credit, SMEs are expected to develop while also creating employment and generating income for the poor and near poor. Based on KUR's loan disbursement, its number of participating banks, and its number of borrowers, this paper shows that the implementation of the programme attracted millions of SMEs. This paper then highlights the ways in which KUR has or has not addressed market failures in the credit market for SMEs. This paper also shows that KUR's role in accelerating poverty reduction is still questionable as there are many poor households unable to access the programme. Hence, the main policy challenges are: first, improving the design of KUR to reduce information asymmetry; second, ensuring that KUR meets its anti-poverty objectives by reaching the right sectors and the right regions; and third, strengthening the KUR Policy Committee's oversight and ability to coordinate across key stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gender differences in access to and repayment of loans seem the reasons behind the persistent subsistence and small scale nature of most agribusinesses in Nigeria. This study, gender differences in access to and repayment of Bank of Agriculture loans among cooperative farmers in Anambra State, Nigeria, specifically estimated gender differences in the bank's loan disbursements and repayments; determinants of loan repayment and constraints to loan repayment. Multistage and random sampling methods were used to select 10 cooperative societies and two hundred beneficiaries (100 men and 100 women) from the bank's list of beneficiaries. Pre-tested questionnaire was used for primary data collection. Collected data were analyzed by means of non-parametric and parametric statistical tools. Findings indicated that the male farmers obtained more of the bank's loans (M=N142,857 or $716) than the females (M=N140,000 or $701), however, the female farmers repaid more (72.14%) of the loans than the males (65.17%). Loan repayment was statistically and significantly determined by type of lending institution, loan amount, annual income and gender. Serious constraints to loan repayment were amount of loan disbursed, family commitment, size of income and excessive bureaucratic procedures. Increasing the maximum amount approved for farmers and curbing excessive bureaucratic procedures would ensure minimal diversion of the loans, higher income for the farmers and better repayment rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]