The Digital Credit Divide: Marketplace Lending and Entrepreneurship
研究发现市场借贷增加了创业数量，尤其在欠发达地区，但创业质量较低；利用美国州界附近的模糊断点回归估计，市场借贷增长10%使企业数量增加0.44%。
Abstract We conjecture that marketplace lending provokes an increase in the quantity of entrepreneurship, particularly in more regionally disadvantaged areas, albeit at lower average quality. Using a fuzzy regression discontinuity design that exploits exogenous variation in borrowers’ access to marketplace loans along U.S. state borders, we estimate a 10% increase in marketplace lending causes a 0.44% increase in business establishments per capita. The effects are more pronounced for less experienced entrepreneurs, for small and less profitable firms, firms more dependent upon external finance, in industries with lower sunk costs of entry, and for low-income regions with inferior access to financial institutions.