Impact of social capital on access to formal credits of shrimp households in the coastal districts of Ben Tre

Abstract

The study was conducted in Ben Tre’s
three coastal districts, namely Binh Dai, Ba Tri and
Thanh Phu, with the aim to identify the structure
and quality of social capital as well as its impact on
the access to formal credits of 172 shrimp
households. Using descriptive statistics, Logistic
regression and multivariate regression, the results
show that official social networks (i.e. associations
and organizations), informal social networks
(farming management, credit officers, family -
friends – colleagues), age, experience, number of
years living in the locality and education level are
determinants of the access to formal credits and
credit amounts. In addition, the study also proposed
a number of measures to expand the social capital
and enhance the accessibility to formal credits of
shrimp households.