We study credit access in informal economies where market institutions, such as financial reporting systems, auditing, and courts, are nonexistent or function poorly. Using the setting of a large bazaar in India, we find that community membership plays a vital role in access to credit. Wholesalers are more likely to provide credit and offer greater amounts of credit to within-community retailers, and are more lenient when these retailers are delinquent. Furthermore, wholesalers who lent preferentially to their community retailers pre-COVID are more likely to receive help from their community following the COVID-19–related income shock, particularly from same-community landlords and suppliers. Also, wholesalers with low endowments, those with greater within-community information flow about them, and those facing income shocks are more likely to provide preferential credit to their community retailers. Our findings are consistent with an indirect reciprocity mechanism explaining within-community credit flows.

中文翻译：

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社区成员资格和贷款互惠：来自非正式市场的证据


我们研究非正规经济中的信贷准入，这些经济中的市场机构（例如财务报告系统、审计和法院）不存在或运作不佳。以印度一个大型集市为背景，我们发现社区成员资格在获得信贷方面发挥着至关重要的作用。批发商更有可能向社区内的零售商提供信贷并提供更多的信贷，并且当这些零售商拖欠债务时，批发商会更加宽容。此外，在 COVID-19 相关的收入冲击之后，在新冠疫情之前优先向社区零售商提供贷款的批发商更有可能从社区获得帮助，特别是来自同社区房东和供应商的帮助。此外，捐赠较低的批发商、社区内信息流动较多的批发商以及面临收入冲击的批发商更有可能向其社区零售商提供优惠信贷。我们的研究结果与解释社区内信贷流动的间接互惠机制一致。