Crépon, Bruno Komi, Mohamed El and Osman, Adam

Is it who you are or what you get? Comparing the impacts of loans and grants for microenterprise development - American Economic Journal: Applied Economics - 16(1), Jan, 2024: p.286-313

Is the type of financial support provided to businesses more important than which businesses receive it? Loans and grants can lead to differences in optimal investments and in scope for moral hazard. We randomize 3,293 business loan applicants into receiving a loan, cash grant, in-kind grant, or nothing. All treatments equally increase income, yet there are large differences within a treatment group with impacts concentrated at the top of the distribution. Those who succeed with loans are observationally equivalent to those who succeed with grants, showcasing that owner heterogeneity is more important than the type of support received in microenterprise development.- Reproduced

https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/app.20210683



Financial support Business loans Cash grants In-kind grants Optimal investments Moral hazard Microenterprise development Income increase Owner heterogeneity Treatment groups Randomized control trial (RCT) Business support effectiveness Small business success Financial interventions Economic impact