Do creative institutional design and social networks of poverty reduction programs in impoverished countries lower access and transaction costs for the poor and service providers? This question, while important for all impoverished countries, draws particular interest in the African context because there is too much emphasis on whether and why these programs work and not how programs should work in societies that are characterized by uncertainty, hostility to the interests of the poor, and unpredictability in constraining the activities of self-interested actors. To test whether creative institutional design features and social networks can lead to successful provision of credit to the poor, this article draws on existing records and original rigorous qualitative data on the organizational policies and behavior of borrowers existing in the Lift Above Poverty Organization (LAPO), a national microfinance institution in southern Nigeria, to examine how innovative rules and procedures reduce the access costs faced by the poor for obtaining credit and other services for improved welfare and enhanced productivity. The overall assessment shows that there is a strong relationship between programs, which emphasizes institutional design mechanisms to overcome typical problems of implementing programs that benefit the poor.

中文翻译：

---

为穷人提供信贷：测试非洲小型金融机构成功的社会制度基础的理论领域

贫穷国家减贫计划的创造性制度设计和社会网络是否会降低穷人和服务提供者的获取和交易成本？这个问题虽然对所有贫困国家都很重要，但在非洲背景下引起了特别的兴趣，因为过分强调这些计划是否以及为什么有效，而不是在充满不确定性和敌对利益的社会中，这些计划应该如何运作。限制自利行为者活动的能力差且不可预测。为了测试创造性的制度设计特征和社交网络是否可以成功地向穷人提供信贷，本文借鉴了尼日利亚南部国家小额信贷机构“超越贫困组织”(Lift Above Poverty Organization, LAPO) 现有借款人组织政策和行为的现有记录和原始严格定性数据，以研究创新规则和程序如何降低所面临的获取成本穷人获得信贷和其他服务以改善福利和提高生产力。总体评估表明，项目之间存在很强的关系，它强调制度设计机制，以克服实施有利于穷人的项目的典型问题。研究创新规则和程序如何降低穷人获得信贷和其他服务以改善福利和提高生产力所面临的获取成本。总体评估表明，项目之间存在很强的关系，它强调制度设计机制，以克服实施有利于穷人的项目的典型问题。研究创新规则和程序如何降低穷人获得信贷和其他服务以改善福利和提高生产力所面临的获取成本。总体评估表明，项目之间存在很强的关系，它强调制度设计机制，以克服实施有利于穷人的项目的典型问题。