The Impact of Microcredit on Child Education: Quasi-experimental Evidence from Rural China
利用中国西北农村2000和2004年家庭面板数据，通过断点回归设计评估正规小额信贷对儿童教育的影响，发现长期效果显著，短期效果有限。
This article assesses causal effects of formal microcredit on children’s educational outcomes by using household panel data (2000 and 2004) in north-west rural China. The unobservables between borrowers and non-borrowers are controlled in static and dynamic regression-discontinuity designs. The static analysis reveals significant positive impact of microcredit on schooling years in 2000 only, and no influence on academic performance for either wave. The dynamic analysis shows progressive treatment effects on both longer schooling years and higher average scores. Formal microcredit improves education in the longer term compared to the short term, and hence may help relaxing the grip of educational poverty traps.