DP9503 Long-Run Price Elasticities of Demand for Credit: Evidence from a Countrywide Field Experiment in Mexico
Author(s): | Dean S. Karlan, Jonathan Zinman |
Publication Date: | June 2013 |
Keyword(s): | interest rate elasticities, interest rate policy, interest rates, microcredit |
JEL(s): | E43, G21, O11, O12 |
Programme Areas: | Financial Economics |
Link to this Page: | cepr.org/active/publications/discussion_papers/dp.php?dpno=9503 |
The long-run price elasticity of demand for credit is a key parameter for intertemporal modeling, policy levers, and lending practice. We use randomized interest rates, offered across 80 regions by Mexico?s largest microlender, to identify a 29-month dollars-borrowed elasticity of -1.9. This elasticity increases from -1.1 in year one to -2.9 in year three. The number of borrowers is also elastic. Credit bureau data does not show evidence of crowd-out. Competitors do not respond by reducing rates, perhaps because Compartamos? profits are unchanged. The results are consistent with multiple equilibria in loan pricing.