Is It Who You Are or What You Get? Comparing the Impacts of Loans and Grants for Microenterprise Development

Authors

Bruno Crépon, CREST
Mohamed El Komi, The American University in Cairo
Adam Osman, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Second Author's Department

Economics Department

Find in your Library

https://doi.org/10.1257/app.20210683

All Authors

Bruno Crépon, Mohamed El Komi, Adam Osman

Document Type

Research Article

Publication Title

American Economic Journal: Applied Economics

Publication Date

1-1-2024

doi

10.1257/app.20210683

Abstract

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.

First Page

286

Last Page

313

Comments

Article. Record derived from SCOPUS.

Recommended Citation

APA Citation

Crépon, B. El Komi, M. & Osman, A. (2024). 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), 286–313. 10.1257/app.20210683
https://fount.aucegypt.edu/faculty_journal_articles/6071

MLA Citation

Crépon, Bruno, et al. "Is It Who You Are or What You Get? Comparing the Impacts of Loans and Grants for Microenterprise Development." American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, vol. 16,no. 1, 2024, pp. 286–313.
https://fount.aucegypt.edu/faculty_journal_articles/6071