groups are self-selecting, the expectation being that group members
choose trustworthy persons from their personal network to
join, and that close social ties enhance peer pressure and group
solidarity. Thus, theory seems to suggest that social ties and group
homogeneity4 are linked to repayment performance as they can
facilitate peer monitoring and increase the potential social sanction
of peer pressure (Besley and Coate, 1995; Godquin, 2004).
However, the empirical evidence relating to the impact of social
capital or ‘social ties’ on the repayment performance of credit
groups is rather mixed. On the one hand, this is likely to be due
to the fact that in one situation the effect of social and/or financial
sanctions associated with the solidarity group arrangements
are important, while in other setups the incentive of continued
access to loans is the driving factor behind repayment (Ito, 2003).
On the other hand, this ambiguity may also be due to the great
diversity of study designs in this area. Credit groups can have different
traits and exist in many countries and cultures. Also, the
studies use diverse methods and terminology (see Table 1). The
literature compiled in Table 1 is by no means complete. Yet it
vividly depicts the diversity of approaches and the ambiguity of