Kristian Harding Johnson
Student, Brigham Young University
kristianjohnson@hotmail.com

“The Impact of Microfinance on Household Economic Wellbeing and Social Capital: Contributions from Azerbaijan”

Paper Abstract:
The purpose of this paper is to enhance the current academic/practitioner debates surrounding the economic and social impact of microfinance intervention on clients and client households. Data on 354 current, new, and non clients of FINCA: Azerbaijan is analyzed in econometric models utilizing least squares regression techniques. The number of credit cycles is found to be correlated to a nearly $.13 increase in daily per capita expenditures (DPCE), suggesting that MFIs such as FINCA help lift poor client households out of poverty. Participation in a microcredit program appears to have no effect on social capital, nor does an individual’s level of social capital appear to make him/her more likely to borrow microcredit. More research is needed to uncover the measurable role social capital has in the microlending process.

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Biography:
Kris is graduating with Honors in International Politics from BYU’s Political Science Department with minors in Business and Russian Area Studies. Following an internship as a trade analyst with the International Trade Administration’s Business Information Service for the Newly Independent States, he has worked as an independent consultant on trade and finance contracts for clients in the US, Great Britain, Russia, and Ukraine. In addition, Kris has studied at the BYU Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies and competed on BYU’s Model United Nations team, helping earn it the award of Distinguished Delegation at the national competition in NYC. This past summer, he conducted impact assessments for FINCA International in Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan. Kris is currently working to complete his Honors Thesis on the role of social capital in international development.