There continues to be substantial debate on whether and how providing inclusive access to finance through microcredit promotes entrepreneurship-led development at the base of the pyramid. We contribute to this literature by examining differences in household-level outcomes associated with microfinance loans given for different purposes, and identifying conditions under which the most impact is achieved. Defying common expectations, loans funding microenterprises do not exhibit greater impact than those funding traditional livelihood activities, and loans funding new microenterprises fare particularly poorly. However, loan impact improves when multiple members of a borrower group seek livelihood loans together, and when the provided loans better match the individual financial needs of the borrowers. Our findings underscore the need to refine how microfinance is applied as a tool for development.

中文翻译：

---

金字塔底部的小额信贷和创业

关于通过小额信贷提供包容性融资渠道是否以及如何促进金字塔底部的创业主导型发展，仍然存在大量争论。我们通过检查与用于不同目的的小额信贷相关的家庭层面结果的差异，并确定实现最大影响的条件，为该文献做出贡献。与普遍预期相反，资助微型企业的贷款并没有比资助传统民生活动的贷款表现出更大的影响，资助新微型企业的贷款表现尤其差。然而，当借款人群体的多个成员一起寻求生计贷款，并且所提供的贷款更好地满足借款人的个人财务需求时，贷款影响会有所改善。