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This book examines the impact of political conflict on microfinance engagement to put forth a theory of sparse network traps. It leverages a natural experiment to distinguish between the effects of conflict on determinants of microfinance efficiency and impact, and includes qualitative evidence from 235 interviews from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Liberia. Through a combination of regression analyses and panel data modelling with fixed effects, the project indicates that conflict has a stronger effect on the nature of demand for credit and savings services than it has on the actual performance of financial institutions. This work will interest scholars, researchers and graduate students in the fields of African politics, conflict studies, and development finance.

This book examines engagements with financial services in contexts of conflict. Using Liberia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo as case studies, it explores informal financial and business strategies and how these shift during conflict. Through a combination of regression analyses and panel data modeling with fixed effects, the project research indicates that conflict has a stronger effect on the nature of demand for credit and savings services than it has on the actual performance of financial institutions. In examining these patterns, the importance of networks and family becomes increasingly important—not just in the ways they are important to us as individuals, but as important determinants of post-war outcomes.