Orientação: Elisabete Gomes Santana Félix
Microcredit has the important role in the growth and productivity of the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Timor-Leste, also on poverty reduction in other countries. The objective of this thesis, comprised by four essays, is to provide empirical evidence of the impact of microcredit on the growth and productivity of SMEs and poverty reduction of a selected set of specific factors. As microcredit is still a relevant issue of concern for some countries, due to their considerable role and functions for the growth and productivity of SMEs, the first paper performs an empirical analysis of SMEs data obtained with the application of a questionnaire in Dili, Timor-Leste. The second paper examine the impact of microcredit on SMEs growth in Dili, Timor-Leste, controlling for SME age and size, micro saving and also for the firms' activity sector, firm’s investment type and the gender of the owner/manager of the firm, with 1-year data. The third paper examine the impact of microcredit on the productivity (measured by single factor productivity (SFP), total factor productivity (TFP) and labor productivity (LP)) of SMEs in Timor-Leste, with 1-year data. Lastly, the fourth paper examine the impact of microcredit, job creation, inflation rates and education on poverty reduction, controlling for income and its distribution, in Timor-Leste, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Philippines, Myanmar, Cambodia, Pakistan, Malaysia, Thailand, Nepal, and Srilanka, with data from 2007-2016. The results obtained suggest that: (i) the microcredit had a significant impact on the growth and productivity of SMEs; (ii) the microcredit had positive impact on the growth of SMEs; (iii) the microcredit had a positive impact on SMEs productivity; and (iv) microcredit had a significant impact on the poverty reduction.
Microcredit has the important role in the growth and productivity of the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Timor-Leste, also on poverty reduction in other countries. The objective of this thesis, comprised by four essays, is to provide empirical evidence of the impact of microcredit on the growth and productivity of SMEs and poverty reduction of a selected set of specific factors. As microcredit is still a relevant issue of concern for some countries, due to their considerable role and functions for the growth and productivity of SMEs, the first paper performs an empirical analysis of SMEs data obtained with the application of a questionnaire in Dili, Timor-Leste. The second paper examine the impact of microcredit on SMEs growth in Dili, Timor-Leste, controlling for SME age and size, micro saving and also for the firms' activity sector, firm’s investment type and the gender of the owner/manager of the firm, with 1-year data. The third paper examine the impact of microcredit on the productivity (measured by single factor productivity (SFP), total factor productivity (TFP) and labor productivity (LP)) of SMEs in Timor-Leste, with 1-year data. Lastly, the fourth paper examine the impact of microcredit, job creation, inflation rates and education on poverty reduction, controlling for income and its distribution, in Timor-Leste, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Philippines, Myanmar, Cambodia, Pakistan, Malaysia, Thailand, Nepal, and Srilanka, with data from 2007-2016. The results obtained suggest that: (i) the microcredit had a significant impact on the growth and productivity of SMEs; (ii) the microcredit had positive impact on the growth of SMEs; (iii) the microcredit had a positive impact on SMEs productivity; and (iv) microcredit had a significant impact on the poverty reduction.
Keywords: age, education, growth, income, inflation rates, investment, job creation, labor productivity, loan size, microcredit, poverty, productivity, SFP, size, SMEs, TFP