Access to Credit and Women's Work-Decisions: An Empirical Study in Rural Malawi

Hema Swaminathan, Pennsylvania State University
Jill L. Findeis, Pennsylvania State University

This paper addresses the following: (i) Does access to credit for women change their status within the household with effects for their work choices (on-farm work vs. off-farm self-employment)? and (ii) Does the impact of access to credit on work choices differ by the headship status of the household? This paper defines access to credit as a variable that positively affects women's status and decision-making powers within the household by increasing their level of economic activity and giving them independent access to resources. This paper differentiates between access to credit and participation in a credit program. A non-participating household that has access can still benefit as it can take on activities that are risky but yield a high return. The on-farm and off-farm participation decisions of married men and women (spouses) and women (heads) are estimated through discrete models using data from rural Malawi.