Research Theme: Access to Finance

Without access to credit, households are likely to engage in low-risk low-return income strategies that inhibit their ability to accumulate assets over time. If they were able to access capital to finance input purchases or other investments, they could improve both their short and long term earnings and well being. Unfortunately, there are many good reasons why households have trouble accessing capital. By understanding the circumstances that create incomplete access to finance, we can then generate a set of products and policies that will improve both the supply and the demand for credit. AMA researchers are looking at different innovations, including the use of biometrics to improve repayment and the effect of interest rates on financial market participation, which will help expand the provision of financial services.

Research Projects

• Understanding and Improving Financial Access for the Poor (Ghana)

Pilot Projects

• Biometric and Financial Innovations in Rural Malawi: A Field Experimental Approach

Publications

• coming soon

Links

• coming soon