Appraising the Thailand Village Fund

The Thailand Village Fund is the second-largest microcredit scheme in the world. Nearly 80,000 elected local Village Fund committees administer loans that reach 30 percent of all households. The value of Village Fund loans has remained steady since 2006, even without new infusions of government funds, and loans go disproportionately to the poor. Based mainly on a custom-built survey of more than 3,000 Village Funds conducted in 2010, this paper evaluates the performance of Village Funds, which it argues are best modeled as altruistic, and do not appear to be subject to elite capture. As expected, profit rates are difficult to model, but the regression analysis shows that loan recovery rates, total lending, credit ratings, and the proportion of loans going to the poor are all higher when a Village Fund borrows additional funds from a formal bank and on-lends to households, as was done by one in five Village Funds. An economic analysis suggests that Village Fund benefits exceed the costs. Most Village Funds are social rather than financial intermediaries; they have little incentive to take risks or to innovate, which explains why Village Fund lending has not kept pace with the growth of the Thai economy.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	R. Boonperm, Jirawan, Haughton, Jonathan, Khandker, Shahidur, Rukumnuaykit, Pungpond
Language:	English
Published:	2012-03-01
Subjects:	ACCESS TO CREDIT, ACCOUNTING, ADMINISTRATIVE COST, ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS, ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES, AFFILIATED ORGANIZATIONS, AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVES, AGRICULTURE, ASSET CLASS, AVAILABILITY OF CREDIT, BALANCE SHEET, BANK BORROWERS, BANK LENDING, BANK LOANS, BANKING SYSTEM, BANKRUPTCY, BANKRUPTCY CONSTRAINT, BOOK VALUE, BORROWER, BORROWING, BORROWING COST, BORROWING COSTS, BORROWING RATE, CAPITAL COSTS, CAPITAL INFLOW, CLAIM, COMMERCIAL BANK, CONSUMER CREDIT, CREDIT ASSOCIATIONS, CREDIT RATING, CREDIT RATINGS, CREDIT STANDING, CREDITWORTHINESS, DEBT, DEMAND FOR CREDIT, DEPENDENT, DEPOSIT, DEPOSITS, DEVELOPMENT BANK, DEVELOPMENT BANKS, DEVELOPMENT POLICY, DIVIDEND, DIVIDEND PAYMENTS, DIVIDENDS, DUMMY VARIABLES, ECONOMETRIC MODELS, ECONOMIC SURVEYS, EMERGENCY FUND, EMERGENCY LOANS, ENTREPRENEURSHIP, EQUIPMENT, EXCHANGE RATE, EXPENDITURE, EXPLICIT ­ INTEREST, FINANCIAL ASSET, FINANCIAL ASSETS, FINANCIAL INFORMATION, FINANCIAL INSTITUTION, FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS, FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIES, FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARY, FINANCIAL POSITION, GOVERNMENT SAVINGS, HOLDING, INCOME, INCOME GROUPS, INDEBTED, INSTRUMENT, INSUFFICIENT FUNDS, INTEREST COSTS, INTEREST RATE, INTEREST RATE POLICIES, INTEREST RATES, INTERNATIONAL BANK, JUDGE, LATE PAYMENTS, LENDER, LENDERS, LIABILITY, LOAN, LOAN AMOUNT, LOAN AMOUNTS, LOAN APPLICATION, LOAN APPLICATIONS, LOAN APPRAISAL, LOAN BALANCE, LOAN CONTRACT, LOAN DEMAND, LOAN GUARANTEES, LOAN PORTFOLIO, LOAN PRICE, LOAN RECOVERY, LOAN REPAYMENT, LOAN SIZE, LOAN SIZES, LOAN TERMS, LOANABLE FUNDS, LOANS FROM BANKS, LOANS TO INDIVIDUALS, LOW INTEREST RATES, MARGINAL PRODUCT, MARGINAL UTILITY, MARKET INTEREST RATE, MICROCREDIT, MICROFINANCE, MICROFINANCE INSTITUTIONS, MONOPOLY, NET PROFIT, NON-PERFORMING LOANS, OFFERINGS, ONLENDING, OPPORTUNITY COST, OUTSTANDING DEBT, OVERDUE LOANS, PAYOFF, PERSONAL LIABILITY, POOR BORROWER, POOR BORROWERS, PRODUCTIVITY, PROFIT MAXIMIZATION, PROFIT RATE, PUBLIC FUNDS, RECOVERY RATE, RECOVERY RATES, REGRESSION ANALYSIS, REPAYMENT, REPAYMENT OF PRINCIPAL, REPAYMENT PERIOD, REPAYMENT RATE, REPAYMENT RATES, REPAYMENTS, RETURN, REVOLVING FUND, RISKY BORROWERS, ROTATING CREDIT, SAVINGS BANK, SAVINGS DEPOSITS, SHAREHOLDERS, SMALL LOAN, SMALL LOANS, SOURCE OF CREDIT, SUPPLY OF CREDIT, WAGES, WORKING CAPITAL,
Online Access:	http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000158349_20120314093820 https://hdl.handle.net/10986/3286
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