Institutional Credit and the Profit Efficiency of Micro and Small Scale Traders: Evidence from Faisalabad

Abstract

In a country like Pakistan, where the people generally have shortage of capital due to low savings as a consequence of low income, financial institutions play an important part to finance the working capital requirements of the business. Data Envelopment Analysis was used in this study to find the efficiency scores of the borrowers. There after, Tobit regression was used in the second stage to explore the determinants of the efficiency. A total of 85 traders of micro and small scale were interviewed to fill the questionnaires. Mean Technical Efficiency was recorded at 0.78. Average Propensity to Consume (APC), Interest Rate (IR) and Number of times credit was taken (NTC) were found to have a negative impact on the Variable Returns to Scale Technical Efficiency (VRSTE). Micro level traders were more efficient than Small scale traders. Traders working in a rented shop were significantly more efficient than those who were running their business in an owned shop. Traders who utilized the loan for actual purpose were more efficient than those who partially or bulk amount of loan utilized for non productive purpose. Therefore it is recommended the financial institutions to work on screening policy and training workshops.

Key Words: Efficiency, Institutional Credit, Data Envelopment Analysis, Tobit Model