Are women more likely to be credit constrained? Evidence from low-income households in the Philippines

Abstract

This paper investigates the determinants of credit constraints among women and men in urban slum communities in the Philippines. Results show that women are more likely to be credit constrained than men. Rather than wealth, informal lenders seem to rely more on reputation and credit history to screen prospective borrowers, although the consequences of repayment delays or defaults are much more severe for women. These findings provide empirical support for women-targeted credit interventions in urban poor contexts, particularly those that enable women to build and capitalize on good credit histories.