Interest Rate Elasticity Of Demand Research Articles

A meta de inflação é desestabilizadora? Lições da América Latina

ABSTRACT This paper argues that several aspects of the productive structure and the macroeconomic policies of Latin American countries, when combined with a Taylor Rule, may produce too much output volatility and a bias towards real exchange rate overvaluation. Relaying on a simple Aggregate Demand - Aggregate Supply model, we show that this is a likely outcome when: a) the real interest rate elasticity of demand is low; b) depreciations have strong contractionary effects; and c) the exchange rate pass-through is relatively large. These conditions imply that depreciations are contractionary and a have a strong effect on inflation.

Microfinance and missing markets

AbstractThe existing theoretical analysis of microfinance focuses on the nature of the loan contract such as group liability. We draw attention to the role of missing or imperfect labour markets in understanding some of the important “second generation” debates in microfinance. Our analysis helps explain a number of puzzles in microfinance including high repayment rates with high interest rates, difficulties in scaling up projects, limited economic impact on borrowing households, low take‐up rates in recent microcredit programs, conflicting views about the interest rate elasticity of demand, and spurious mission drift. Microcredit can play a role when labour markets are underdeveloped, but it may also hinder structural transformation.

Loan demand in Jordanian microfinance market: interest rate elasticity and loan-acceptance prediction via logistic regression

Currently, more and more competitors enter the Jordanian microfinance market, offering a greater range of differentiated loan products, aggressive interest rates and loan terms. Our goal is to formulate loan-acceptance prediction methods and, ultimately, pricing strategies for Jordanian microfinance products by studying the customer behaviour of one of the three largest microfinance institutions in Jordan with a particular focus on interest elasticity of demand. We examine the hypothesis of a low interest rate elasticity of demand, and the possibility of increasing the interest rate without cannibalizing loan demand. We plan a methodology to pin down average interest rate elasticity by determining the driving factors affecting the demand. The methodologies we use are based on empirical demand studies and a logistic regression dependence model for loan demand. As a by-product of these studies, we provide a data set including 63 different demographic, educational, household, loan, and other characteristics ...

Microfinance and credit to the ultra poor

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to see whether Government of India is successful to make credit accessible to the poor; to examine the role of competition in microfinance sector in ensuring credit to the ultra poor borrowers; to see the role of subsidy in microfinance movement. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on secondary data. This paper examines, in an analytical framework with a variety of assumptions, the role of microfinance institutes (MFIs) in bringing capital to the ultra poor. Findings – In an attempt to make credit accessible to the poor, Government of India took several measures, but did not succeed to a significant extent. This paper has shown that the microcredit has become accessible to the “working poor,” but not to the ultra poor. Initially the model shows that in the absence of competition MFI and moneylender are equally exploitative to the ultra poor borrowers. The model further shows that in the presence or absence of competition in the credit market, credit may be accessible to the ultra poor borrowers under certain conditions. Excessive subsidies might drive out the poor borrowers from the microfinance sector. Originality/value – For the poor clients served by the microfinance institution, the argument goes, the access not the cost (interest rate) that matters (Robinson, 2001). Here the implicit assumption is that the interest rate elasticity of demand for micro credit is close to zero (Emran et al., 2006). In an interesting paper Deheja et al. (2005) has shown that the interest rate elasticity of loan in the microfinance system is significantly negative. The author is of the opinion that this is the cost of credit as well as inability to pay a minimum price of credit, which denies the access to credit.

Microfinance and Missing Markets

The existing theoretical analysis of microfinance focuses on the nature of the loan contracts that mitigates the pervasive problems of moral hazard and adverse selection in the absence of physical collateral. We depart from the existing literature and draw attention to the role of missing or imperfect labor market in understanding some of the important 'second generation' puzzles and debates in the microfinance movement. Our analysis shows that a focus on the labor market helps explain a number puzzling aspects of microfinance in developing countries like (i) credit-worthiness of poor women borrowers facing very high interest rates, (ii) the microentrepreneurs unwillingness or inability to scale up their economic activity, (iii) conflicting views about interest rate elasticity of demand for microcredit (i.e., a zero elasticity according to practitioners, but a significant negative elasticity according to econometric estimate). The analysis has important implications for the appropriate role of microcredit in the long-run development of a developing economy.

Technological Change and the Demand for Currency: An Analysis with Household Data

Advances in transaction technology allow agents to economize on the cost of cash management. We argue that accounting for the impact of new transaction technologies on currency holding behaviour is important to obtain theoretically consistent estimates of the demand for money. We modify a standard inventory model to study the effect of withdrawal technology on the demand for currency. An empirical specification for households' demand schedule is suggested, in which both the level of currency holdings and the interest rate elasticity of demand depend on the withdrawal technology available to agents (e.g. ATM card ownership or a high/low density of bank branches, ATMs). The theoretical implications are tested using a unique panel of Italian household data (on currency holdings, deposit interest rates, consumption, development of banking services, etc.) for the period 1989-2004.

The Bank's Market Power and the Interest-Rate Elasticity of Demand for Housing: An Econometric Study of Discrimination on French Mortgage Data

We specify several variants of a structural econometric model explaining mortgage interest rates and loan sizes simultaneously. The models are estimated by simultaneous equation methods with a sample of loan files originated from a French mortgage lender. They yield estimates of the interest-rate elasticity of the demand for housing. Different occupational status groups happen to have different values of structural preference parameters. We show how these differences translate into differential treatment of socio-economic groups by the banker.

The demand for deposits and risk sensitivity: The case for Greece, 1955–1980

The purpose of this paper is to estimate the demand for deposits in Greece, using a constrained simultaneous equation system similar in principle to the Linear Expenditure System. The procedure allows us to calculate both the wealth and interest rate elasticities of demand for the various types of deposits and to measure the relative risk associated with each category of deposits.

A simple method of estimating interest elasticities from survey data

A technique similar to that used by Carlson and Parkin (1975) is developed to estimate interest rate elasticities of demand for financial assets. A numerical example is given.

A Linear Allocation of Spending‐Power System:A Consumer Demand and Portfolio Model*

In the applied literature the household's consumption and portfolio decisions have tended to be viewed separately. This thesis is an initial attempt to remedy this. The household's demand for both commodities and assets, at a reasonably low level of aggregation, is integrated by using a tightly specified utility maximizing model. Utility is a function of both the flow of commodities consumed and the stock of assets held. The consumer demand literature is used as a starting point. The solution to the household's maximum problem generates an allocation system, which is a complete set of demand equations for all commodities and all assets. Two allocation systems are estimated using quarterly Australian data. Wealth, price and interest rate elasticities of demand for each commodity and each asset are reported.