Abstract Typical microcredit contracts involve inflexibilities characterised by frequent periodic repayments without the option to restructure the same depending on emerging contingencies. Such inflexibilities increase financial stress and severely curtail autonomy, resulting in detrimental economic and psychological consequences for the poor. This paper explores such causal linkages in depth primarily from the perspective of consumer psychology. Alternative loan structures that can simultaneously alleviate the ill effects of these inflexibilities in microcredit contracts, and simultaneously motivate the poor in investing the borrowed capital in more worthwhile enterprises, are subsequently suggested. Finally, potential theoretical, managerial and policy implications are discussed.

中文翻译：

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僵化的小额信贷合同及其不满：基于消费者心理学的理论视角

摘要典型的小额信贷合同具有灵活性，其特点是需要定期定期还款，而不能选择根据出现的突发事件进行重组。这种缺乏灵活性增加了财务压力，严重限制了自主权，给穷人带来了不利的经济和心理后果。本文主要从消费者心理学的角度深入探讨了这种因果关系。随后提出了替代贷款结构，该结构可同时减轻小额信贷合同中这些灵活性不足的不良影响，并同时激励穷人将借入的资本投资于更有价值的企业。最后，讨论了潜在的理论，管理和政策含义。