The impact of microcredit on agricultural technology adoption and productivity: Evidence from randomized control trial in Tanzania

Nakano, Yuko; Magezi, Eustadius Francis

doi:10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.104997

Cited by 71 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 44 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…There have been numerous studies focusing on the agricultural productivity of developing countries, and many of them paid attention to the region or countries of sub-Saharan Africa [18][19][20] and China [21][22][23]. Relatively less research has been conducted on agricultural productivity of south and southeast Asian countries.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Agricultural Productivity Growth and Its Determinants in South and Southeast Asian Countries

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Improving agricultural productivity is a priority concern in promoting the sustainable development of agriculture in developing countries. In this study, we first apply stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) to analyze the growth of agricultural total factor productivity (TFP) and its three components (technical change—TC, technical efficiency change—TEC and scale change—SC) in 15 south and southeast Asian countries covering the period 2002 to 2016. Then, the determinants of agricultural TFP growth are identified using dynamic panel data models. The results reveal that the south and southeast Asian countries witnessed an overall decline in agricultural productivity during the sample period, thereby creating concerns over sustaining future agricultural growth. Technical progress was the major source of TFP growth, but its contribution has slowed in recent years. On the other hand, declining scale change and technical efficiency change resulted in the deterioration of productivity over time. Variable levels of productivity performances were observed for individual countries, mainly driven by technological progress. Overall, southeast Asia achieved a more stable and sustained agricultural growth as compared to south Asia. Among the determinants, human capital, level of urbanization, and development flow to agriculture positively influenced agricultural TFP growth, while the level of economic development and agricultural import were negatively associated with TFP growth. Policy recommendations include the suggestions that south and southeast Asian countries should increase investment in human capital, focus on technological innovation and make use of financial assistance and development flow to agriculture to increase and sustain agricultural productivity. In addition, frontier countries of the two regions (e.g., India and Indonesia) should take the lead on regional agricultural development ventures by enhancing cooperation with neighboring countries on technological innovations, and countries facing diseconomies of scale (i.e., Afghanistan and Iran) should consider the rational reallocation of agricultural inputs.

show abstract

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Agricultural Productivity Growth and Its Determinants in South and Southeast Asian Countries

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…However, credit use did not result in higher paddy yield, presumably because low or moderate return to fertilizer in these areas (Nakano and Magezi 2019).…”

Section: ) Econometric Resultsmentioning

confidence: 86%

The Impact of Microcredit on Household Income: The Case of BRAC in Tanzania

Magezi

Nakano

2020

JJAE

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Microcredit is considered a potential tool for poverty alleviation. This study examines whether microcredit can contribute to an increase in the household income of rural households. We use two-year panel data obtained from a household-level randomized controlled trial (RCT) of microcredit service implemented in Tanzania. Our empirical results show that the provision of microcredit did not have a positive impact on household income. However, when the household income from different sources is examined, we find that microcredit had a positive impact on income from crops other than rice. Our findings are useful in designing microcredit products targeting agricultural communities in developing countries.

show abstract

“…Rural financial development can reduce poverty in at least two ways, the first, through access to agricultural credit, boosting agricultural productivity or technical efficiency (Agbodji & Johnson, 2019;Luan & Bauer, 2016;Nakano & Magezi, 2020). In developing nations, lack of capital hinders agricultural development and thus, rural finance plays an essential role in increasing investments in farming.…”

Section: Analytical Framework Of the Impact Of Rural Financial Develomentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In developing nations, lack of capital hinders agricultural development and thus, rural finance plays an essential role in increasing investments in farming. Specifically, the availability of rural credit makes it possible for farmers to enhance the use of inputs such as pesticide and chemical fertilizer use, and animal feed, as well as increase land transfer (Luan & Bauer, 2016;Nakano & Magezi, 2020). Meanwhile, rural credit enables farmers to adopt advanced agricultural technologies, such as irrigation, improved seeds, and the use of information and communication technologies (ICT).…”

Section: Analytical Framework Of the Impact Of Rural Financial Develomentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Rural financial services, such as rural credit and microfinance, improve access to capital for poor households in less developed countries (Nakano & Magezi, 2020;). These services are more likely to increase investment in agriculture, which may promote agricultural productivity and enhance households' income (Agbodji & Johnson, 2019;Carrer et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Rural financial development, spatial spillover, and poverty reduction: evidence from China

Zhu

Chen

Cai

et al. 2021

Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Rural financial development is deemed essential for eliminating poverty. In China, successive governments have initiated a series of financial development plans to reduce poverty since the launch of economic reform in the late 1970s. However, there is a rising concern about whether financial development can reduce poverty in China. This study uses a panel dataset of 30 provinces (out of 31) in mainland China from 1997 to 2015 to examine the effect of rural financial development on poverty reduction. We employ a spatial panel model to investigate whether rural financial development has a positive spatial spillover effect. Moreover, we use the instrumental variable method to address the possible bidirectional causal effect between rural financial development and poverty reduction. Our study confirms that rural financial development does reduce poverty and simultaneously widen the urban-rural income gap. We further find that rural financial development has a positive spatial spillover effect on poverty alleviation and that the conventional panel model (e.g., fixed effects method) may underestimate the effect of rural financial development, as it ignores the spatial spillover effect.

show abstract

The impact of microcredit on agricultural technology adoption and productivity: Evidence from randomized control trial in Tanzania

Cited by 71 publications

References 44 publications

Agricultural Productivity Growth and Its Determinants in South and Southeast Asian Countries

Agricultural Productivity Growth and Its Determinants in South and Southeast Asian Countries

The Impact of Microcredit on Household Income: The Case of BRAC in Tanzania

Rural financial development, spatial spillover, and poverty reduction: evidence from China

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About