Scarce Collateral
One solution to the repayment problem in credit markets is to have the borrower put up a physical asset that the lender can seize if the borrower defaults.
Such assets are usually hard to come by in rural credit markets, partly because
the borrowers are too poor to have assets that could be collateralized, and
partly because poorly developed property rights make appropriating collateral
in the event of default difficult in rural areas of many developing countries.
Improving the codification of land rights is often suggested, therefore, as a way
to extend the domain of collateral and improve the working of financial markets. This idea is discussed in greater detail below.