This paper estimates the risk preferences of cotton farmers in Southern Peru, using the results from a multiple-price-list lottery game. Assuming that preferences conform to two of the leading models of decision under risk--Expected Utility Theory (EUT) and Cumulative Prospect Theory...

This paper reports the results of behavioral economic experiments conducted in Peru to examine the relationship amongst risk preferences, loan take-up, and insurance purchase decisions. This area-based yield insurance can help reduce people's vulnerability to large scale covariate shocks, and...

Recent theoretical and empirical evidence suggests that risk (especially covariant risk that is correlated across producers) may discourage both the supply of agricultural credit and the willingness of small holders to utilize available credit and enjoy the higher expected incomes credit could...

This article looks at the determinants of the choice of productive projects involving intertemporal contracts in rural Peru. In a setting where the formal education is limited, the successful launching of new financial instruments may be affected by the lack of proper understanding of their main...

In recent years, the literature on group lending has increased considerably, inspired by the successful microfinance experiences in Bangladesh, Bolivia, and other developing countries. A great deal of this literature has emphasized the ability of group lending mechanisms to reduce borrower...

This book represents the first comprehensive effort to analyze informal finance in Peru. We gathered data from a survey designed to capture formal and non-formal credit and savings transactions. We surveyed rural households, urban micro entrepreneurs, and wholesalers from three regions: Junin,...

The rise of commercialization in microfinance we have witnessed in the last two decades has revived the debate about the trade-off between the sustainability and depth of outreach of the Microfinance Organizations (MFOs). We find evidence of such trade-off for the Peruvian MFOs (meaning that...