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Evaluation of Impacts of Access to Credit and Loan Size for Microcredit Clients in South Africa

Evaluation of Impacts of Access to Credit and Loan Size for Microcredit Clients in South Africa

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT00700349
Enrollment
3000
Registered
2008-06-18
Start date
2004-09-30
Completion date
2005-11-30
Last updated
2008-06-18

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Depression, Mental Health, Stress

Keywords

depression, stress, microcredit, poverty, South Africa

Brief summary

This study involves randomization of individuals who were initially rejected from a micro-lending organization in South Africa. Subjects were placed into two arms: (1) not receiving a loan; (2) being reconsidered for a second look. Of those in the second arm, 53% were then selected by the organization's loan officers to receive a standard loan for first-time borrowers. Mental health and financial data were collected at one timepoint: approximately 6-12 months after the subjects first applied for the loan.

Interventions

OTHERSmall loan

Applicants in the treatment group were offered an interest rate, loan size, and maturity per the lender's standard underwriting criteria, involving a 4-month maturity at 11.75% per month, charged on the original balance (200% annual percentage rate).

Sponsors

Broadening Access and Strengthening Input Market Systems/USAID
CollaboratorUNKNOWN
U.S. National Science Foundation
CollaboratorFED
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
CollaboratorOTHER
Princeton University
CollaboratorOTHER
Social Science Research Council Program in Applied Economics
CollaboratorUNKNOWN
Federal Reserve Bank of New York
CollaboratorUNKNOWN
Innovations for Poverty Action
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Subjects were recruited from those who had been rejected from a lending organization for non-fraudulent or non-overindebtness reasons.

Exclusion criteria

* None.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frame
Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), a 20-item questionnaire (0 = no risk, 60 = highest risk)At follow-up (6-12 months after subject enrollment)
Perceived stress, measured using the Cohen's Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), a 10-item questionnaire (0 = no stress, 40 = high stress)At follow-up (6-12 months after subject enrollment)

Secondary

MeasureTime frame
Household income, measured by a variety of questions that asked about all sources of income obtained by all members of the applicant's household.At follow-up (6-12 months after subject enrollment)

Countries

South Africa

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026