American Economic Review
ISSN 0002-8282 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7981 (Online)
On the Possibility of Credit Rationing in the Stiglitz-Weiss Model
American Economic Review
vol. 99,
no. 5, December 2009
(pp. 2012–21)
Abstract
Contrary to what is usually assumed, the expected revenue for lenders as a function of the loan rate cannot be globally hump-shaped in the Stiglitz-Weiss (1981) adverse selection model with a continuum of types. This has important implications. First, if there is credit rationing, there must be at least two equilibrium loan rates. Second, while at the low rate loans are rationed, all those applicants willing to pay the high rate are then served. Numerical analysis shows that unless the joint distribution of risk class and output is rather special, the two loan rate outcome with rationing is unlikely. (JEL D82, G21)Citation
Arnold, Lutz G., and John G. Riley. 2009. "On the Possibility of Credit Rationing in the Stiglitz-Weiss Model." American Economic Review, 99 (5): 2012–21. DOI: 10.1257/aer.99.5.2012Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D82 Asymmetric and Private Information
- G21 Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages