Despite the expansion of the formal financial sector in recent decades, informal credit continues to play an important role in the financial lives of households in low-income countries. Using panel data from nationally representative household surveys conducted in Nepal in 2003/04 and 2010/11, this paper investigates how borrowing from different channels (formal and informal) and for different purposes (production and consumption) is associated with household investment and consumption expenditure. Findings from a fixed effects regression analysis indicate that formal and informal loans are used to finance different spending needs, and intended credit purposes tend to reflect actual spending of borrowed funds. The level of household investment or consumption spending depends on the interaction between borrowing channels and purposes. This study can inform the efforts to improve household access to affordable and reliable financial services.

中文翻译：

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借贷渠道、目的、家庭投资和消费：来自尼泊尔的证据

尽管近几十年来正规金融部门有所扩张，但非正规信贷继续在低收入国家家庭的金融生活中发挥重要作用。本文使用 2003/04 年和 2010/11 年在尼泊尔进行的具有全国代表性的家庭调查的面板数据，调查了从不同渠道（正式和非正式）和用于不同目的（生产和消费）的借款如何与家庭投资和消费支出相关联. 固定效应回归分析的结果表明，正式和非正式贷款用于满足不同的支出需求，预期的信贷目的往往反映借入资金的实际支出。家庭投资或消费支出的水平取决于借贷渠道和目的之间的相互作用。