Crowdfunding has created new opportunities for poor microentrepreneurs. One crucial question is the impact that the purpose of a loan—either business investment or basic necessities—may have on the success of a campaign. Investigating a prosocial crowdfunding platform, we find that loans...

The 2007-2009 financial crisis and its destructive consequences for the real economy have placed social finance in the spotlight. Social finance involves a wide spectrum of initiatives ranging from large institutions such as social or alternative banks to small informal initiatives such as...