Table 10 All published articles in ABS (4, 4*) ranked journals: 2018–03:2021

Buera et al. (2021)

Review of Economic Studies

4*

The authors provide short and long-run analyses of the macroeconomic impact of microfinance, reporting that the general equilibrium of this market substantially differs over time. The output and capital formation increases with microfinance in the short-term but productivity falls. In the long term, microfinance increases productivity but decreases capital formation, thus only marginally contributing to an increase in per capita output

Duflo (2020)

American Economic Review

4*

This article publishes a lecture by Esther Duflo about field experiments on several interventions targeting the poor, such as those based on microcredit programs. Even after decades of research, there is little evidence for supporting the proposition that microcredits fight against poverty, and the established literature is mainly based on case studies, often produced by MFIs themselves. This could be problematic for the evaluation of microcredit because MFIs hold particular interest in producing information that points to the success of microcredit programs and potentially unwilling to risk refuting this positive narrative with data

Burke et al. (2019)

Quarterly Journal of Economics

4*

The authors report that microcredit can improve a firm’s profitability in the farming sector by promoting the general equilibrium between this sector and the credit markets, mitigating arbitrage problems

Kim et al. (2019)

Journal of Marketing Research

4*

This study provides an evaluation of a project to fight against hunger and poverty in Tanzania and Bangladesh, providing insights into promoting income generating activities and positive social changes in addition to microfinance programs with uncertain benefits. The authors show that community-based projects promoting food security, education and infrastructure improvement may significantly improve the socioeconomic conditions of a community

Tantri (2018)

Review of Financial Studies

4*

This author examines how unexpected government regulation impacts on microloan repayment performance, finding that political intervention in microcredit markets may return significant (negative) spillover effects on loan performance and credit flows

Singh et al. (2021)

Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal

4

This article reports that loans funding microenterprises do not exhibit greater impacts than those funding traditional activities. Loans funding new microenterprises generate poor impacts. However, these impact improve when microloans target group lending. Overall, the results emphasize the need to refine microfinance programs as a tool for sustainable development

Alon et al. (2020)

Journal of World Business

4

This study provides a systematic literature review of five articles in a special issue related to the internationalization of social enterprises (SE), such as MFI, analyzing the risk of mission drift from social goals to financial sustainability. The literature suggests that SEs reduce their interest in their social impacts over time

Attanasio et al. (2019)

Journal of the European Economic Association

4

This study examines the demand for microcredits under different liability arrangements. A theoretical model demonstrates how “joint liability offers a way to diversify risk and reduce the chance of losing access to future loans” (p.1797). The authors also suggest that entrepreneurs with riskier projects tend to demand less for loans. These theoretical insights hold true for an empirical study in Mongolia

Bhuiyan and Ivlevs (2019)

Journal of Business Venturing

4

The authors analyze the effect of microcredit on entrepreneurship and the consequences for subjective well-being. Overall, they find that micro-entrepreneurship contributes to increasing the subjective feeling of “worry”. Thus, microcredits might produce indirect negative effects on overall entrepreneur satisfaction. However, female micro-borrowers experience an increase in the feeling of financial security and achievement in life

Li and Martin (2019)

Journal of Corporate Finance

4

The authors analyze the role of entrepreneur reputation, social capital and social networks in the success of crowdfunding campaigns. They show that good (bad) reputations acquired by the entrepreneurs, their skills levels and the attention they receive by the media, increases (decreases) the chances of success on the Kickstart platform. This conclusion highlights the relevance of transparent data sources on crowdfunding platforms to ensure efficient funding decisions

Drori et al. (2018)

Journal of Business Venturing

4

This study conveys how the market inclusion of women entrepreneurs depend on organizational and institutional factors. Language represents a crucial cultural institution that influences those relationships