Lab in The Field Experiments for Product Demand and Group Aspects in Microlending

Gaibandha and Kurigram districts of northern Bangladesh

The “Lab-in-the-field experiments for product demand and group aspects in microlending” is based on  a large ongoing Randomized Control Trial (RCT) with 92 borrowing groups in the northern Bangladesh entitled “Reaching the unreached: Credit contract design for the ultra-poor” by Kazushi Takahashi, Abu Shonchoy, Seiro Ito, and Takashi Kurosaki from the Institute of Developing Economies (IDE-JETRO) and the Hitotsubashi University. We in a partners collaboration with University of Munich and Gana Unnayan Kendra (GUK) initiated the project. The project has been implemented in the river islands, locally known as Chars, of Gaibandha and Kurigram districts of northern Bangladesh mostly populated by poor households. The study targeted 1840 households from such 92 Chars.

The project is a set of laboratory experiments led by Kristina Czura from the LMU Munich that extend the core field experiment described above. The laboratory field experiments strive to identify which component of the credit feature (grace period, repayment pattern, interest rate and loan-type) is more desirable for the poor employing hypothetical credit choices in discrete choice experiments. In other lab experiment setting, group dynamics within the microcredit group, and in particular the role of the group leader and her leadership qualities are studied using standard experimental games.

The team of 6 instructors with 4 lead instructors under the supervision of 3 RAs from home and abroad worked tirelessly to implement the project as planned. The FOUNDATION is thankful to all the concern persons and subjects of this experiments.