Ohio State University. Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics
Abstract
Merchant-credit projects offer the potential of providing short-term stop-gap informal loans to small borrowers in countries where the formal financial system is in disarray and where weak property rights hinder formal finance. Credit projects involving the Agricultural Bank of Malaysia, contract or bridge lending in the Dominican Republic, the PNN Scheme in Sri Lanka, and the NAPP program in the Philippines are briefly reviewed. The advantages and weaknesses of merchant-credit projects are summarized