Abstract

In this paper, we identify treatment spillovers between microfinance clients in Tanzania using data from a partial population experiment where only a subset of loan group members was offered treatment in the form of business training, a business grant, or both. Our results show large and significant spillover effects from indirect exposure to treatment through group peers. In particular, we find that male microfinance clients with peers receiving both business training and the business grant experience to have significantly higher sales than those not receiving any treatment. Moreover, microfinance clients with positive spillovers make higher investments and borrow more. In addition, the treatment impacts are higher for group members with smaller loans (which is consistent with higher marginal rates of return to capital), and for members in groups with a greater share of women. Our findings illustrate that loan groups may be an important arena for the sharing of entrepreneurial resources, and that standard treatment–control analyses of similar interventions may underestimate impacts in settings with close social interactions.

摘要

在本文中，我们使用来自部分人群实验的数据确定坦桑尼亚小额信贷客户之间的治疗溢出，其中只有一部分贷款组成员以商业培训、商业赠款或两者的形式提供治疗。我们的结果表明，通过群体同伴间接接触治疗产生了巨大而显着的溢出效应。特别是，我们发现同龄男性小额信贷客户同时接受了商业培训和商业赠款经验，其销售额明显高于未接受任何治疗的客户。此外，具有正溢出效应的小额信贷客户进行更多投资并借入更多资金。此外，贷款规模较小的集团成员的待遇影响更大（这与较高的边际资本回报率一致），以及女性人数较多的团体中的成员。我们的研究结果表明，贷款团体可能是共享创业资源的重要场所，对类似干预措施的标准治疗-控制分析可能会低估在社会互动密切的环境中的影响。