Willingness to Pay for Microcredit Features: the Role of Underlying Financial Constraints and Prior Lending Experiences

Last registered on August 27, 2026
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Willingness to Pay for Microcredit Features: the Role of Underlying Financial Constraints and Prior Lending Experiences
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0019487
Initial registration date
August 26, 2026

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
August 27, 2026, 12:54 PM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information

Primary Investigator

Name
Thais Cardarelli
Affiliation
AU
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Antonia Grohmann
PI Affiliation
Aarhus University
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2026-08-24
End date
2027-03-31
Keywords
Behavior, Finance & Microfinance
Additional Keywords
Keywords: Microcredit, Willingness-to-pay Additional Keywords: Microfinance, Small and Micro Business, financial constrains, Features
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Microcredit was designed to expand credit access to small business owners who are traditionally excluded from formal financial services. Despite growing availability, take-up remains low, potentially reflecting a mismatch between product design and borrower needs. This paper uses a discrete choice experiment to estimate willingness-to-pay for different microcredit features among small business owners in Brazil, identifying which features are most valued. We further examine whether stated preferences reflect underlying financial constraints and past borrowing behavior.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Cardarelli, Thais and Antonia Grohmann. 2026. "Willingness to Pay for Microcredit Features: the Role of Underlying Financial Constraints and Prior Lending Experiences." AEA RCT Registry. August 27. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.19487-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2026-08-24
Intervention End Date
2027-03-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Respondent’s choice between two hypothetical microcredit offers.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Willingness to pay for different loan features
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We conduct an online survey experiment to estimate how much female micro and small business owners are willing to pay for features, using hypothetical microcredit offers. We show respondents pairs of microcredit offers, randomizing loan features and interest rates. We ask participants to choose between two loan offers that have different feature and different interest rates.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization by a computer
Randomization Unit
We randomize whether each offer has certain features and what interest rate it has.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
2000 woman owners of small business
Sample size: planned number of observations
Each respondent sees 10 pairs of microcredit offers - 20,000 observations
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
2000
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Aarhus University’s Research Ethics Committee/Research Ethics Committee - BSS (Institutional Review Board)
IRB Approval Date
2026-05-05
IRB Approval Number
BSS-2026-043-L
IRB Name
COMITÊ DE CONFORMIDADE ÉTICA EM PESQUISAS ENVOLVENDO SERES HUMANOS DA FUNDAÇÃO GETULIO VARGAS
IRB Approval Date
2026-07-31
IRB Approval Number
P.351.2026
Analysis Plan