Psychometrics as a Tool to Improve Credit Information

Arraiz, Irani ; Bruhn, Miriam ; Stucchi, Rodolfo

Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the World Bank

关键词: ENTREPRENEUR;    ENTREPRENEURSHIP;    SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISE;    MICROENTERPRISES;    SMALL BUSINESS ECONOMICS;   

DOI  :  10.1093/wber/lhw016
RP-ID  :  140525

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

This paper studies the use ofpsychometric tests, designed by the Entrepreneurial FinanceLab (EFL), as a tool to screen out high credit risk andpotentially increase access to credit for small businessowners in Peru. We compare repayment behavior patternsacross entrepreneurs who were offered a loan based on thetraditional credit scoring method versus the EFL tool. Wefind that the psychometric test can lower the risk of theloan portfolio when used as a secondary screening mechanismfor already banked entrepreneurs—that is, those with acredit history. The EFL tool can also allow lenders to offercredit to some unbanked entrepreneurs—that is, those withouta credit history—who were rejected based on theirtraditional credit scores, without increasingthe risk of the portfolio.