Abstract

The credit market plays a crucial role in providing households with the financial resources needed to invest in fisheries tools and equipment, enhancing their productivity. In contrast, imperfection within the credit market reduces the availability of financial access for those within the marine economy, which negatively impacts fisheries production. This paper examines the relationship between household access to credit and marine productivity as measured by fishery productivity. Using data from 72 countries and territories and employing the fixed effect model, the findings suggest that greater access to credit increases the productivity of fisheries. This study also analyses the relationship between credit access and marine productivity by further dividing countries into landlocked and non-landlocked countries and developed and developing countries. The findings show that landlocked, non-landlocked, and developing countries have a positive correlation between household credit and marine productivity, but developed countries showed a negative correlation between access to credit and marine productivity, because developed countries have already developed their fishery sectors to a degree that there are diminishing returns for increased investment. After controlling various economic and environmental variables along with political factors, the results remain robust in terms of sign and significance.

Keywords

Credit Access, Fisheries Production, Panel Data Analysis

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