{"type":"script","doc_desc":{"version":"1","producers":[{"affiliation":"World Bank - Development Impact Department","role":"Verification and preparation of metadata","name":"Reproducibility WBG","abbr":"DECDI"}],"prod_date":"2026-03-31"},"project_desc":{"title_statement":{"title":"Reproducibility package for Does Automatic Loan Approval Reduce Gender Bias In SME Lending?","idno":"RR_PER_2026_603"},"geographic_units":[{"name":"Peru","code":"PER"}],"keywords":[{"name":"Gender Bias"},{"name":"Sme Lending"},{"name":"Financial Inclusion"}],"language":[{"name":"English","code":"EN"}],"contacts":[{"name":"Claudia Ruiz Ortega","affiliation":"DECRG","email":"cruizortega@worldbank.org"},{"email":"reproducibility@worldbank.org","name":"Reproducibility WBG","affiliation":"World Bank"}],"technology_environment":"Paper exhibits were reproduced on a computer with the following specifications:\n\u2022 OS: Windows 11 Enterprise\n\u2022 Processor: Intel(R) Xeon(R) Gold 6226R CPU @ 2.90GHz\n\u2022 Memory available: 16.0 GB","datasets":[{"name":"Proprietary bank administrative data - Peru","note":"Data source: Confidential administrative data provided by a private commercial bank under a confidentiality agreement with the authors. The identity of the institution cannot be disclosed, and the data cannot be publicly shared","access_type":"Data access was granted directly to the study authors by the data owners. It was obtained with a custom data license that does not allow for redistribution and it is not included in the reproducibility package.","citation":"Anonymous Firm. Proprietary bank administrative data - Peru  [dataset]. Unpublished data. Accessed June 2016."},{"name":"RCC (Registro Crediticio Consolidado) Hist\u00f3rico","note":"Source: Equifax Peru","access_type":"Data access was granted directly to the study authors by the data owners. It was obtained with a custom data license that does not allow for redistribution and it is not included in the reproducibility package.","citation":"Equifax Peru (2026) RCC (Registro Crediticio Consolidado) Hist\u00f3rico [dataset]. [Restricted]"}],"authoring_entity":[{"name":"Claudia Ruiz Ortega","affiliation":"DECRG","email":"cruizortega@worldbank.org"},{"name":"Irani Arraiz","affiliation":"IDB Invest","email":"IARRAIZ@iadb.org"},{"name":"Miriam Bruhn","affiliation":"DECRG World Bank","email":"mbruhn@worldbank.org"}],"software":[{"name":"Stata","version":"18 MP"}],"technology_requirements":"Runtime: 30 minutes","disclaimer":"The materials in the reproducibility packages are distributed as they were prepared by the staff of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development\/The World Bank. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this event do not necessarily reflect the views of the World Bank, the Executive Directors of the World Bank, or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the materials included in the reproducibility package.","production_date":"2026-03-31","topics":[{"name":"Banks \u2022 Depository Institutions \u2022 Micro Finance Institutions \u2022 Mortgages","parent_id":"G2","id":"G21","uri":"https:\/\/www.aeaweb.org\/econlit\/jelCodes.php?view=jel","vocabulary":"Journal of Economic Literature (JEL)"},{"id":" G23","uri":"https:\/\/www.aeaweb.org\/econlit\/jelCodes.php?view=jel","vocabulary":"Journal of Economic Literature (JEL)","name":"Non-bank Financial Institutions \u2022 Financial Instruments \u2022 Institutional Investors","parent_id":"G2"},{"vocabulary":"Journal of Economic Literature (JEL)","name":"Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making in Financial Markets","parent_id":"G4","id":" G41","uri":"https:\/\/www.aeaweb.org\/econlit\/jelCodes.php?view=jel"},{"parent_id":"J1","id":" J16","uri":"https:\/\/www.aeaweb.org\/econlit\/jelCodes.php?view=jel","vocabulary":"Journal of Economic Literature (JEL)","name":"Economics of Gender \u2022 Non-labor Discrimination"},{"name":"Entrepreneurship","parent_id":"L2","id":" L26","uri":"https:\/\/www.aeaweb.org\/econlit\/jelCodes.php?view=jel","vocabulary":"Journal of Economic Literature (JEL)"},{"vocabulary":"Journal of Economic Literature (JEL)","name":"Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development","parent_id":"O1","id":" O12","uri":"https:\/\/www.aeaweb.org\/econlit\/jelCodes.php?view=jel"}],"output":[{"type":"Working Paper","description":"Policy Research Working Papers (PRWP)","title":"Does Automatic Loan Approval Reduce Gender Bias In SME Lending?"}],"license":[{"name":"Modified BSD3","uri":"https:\/\/opensource.org\/license\/bsd-3-clause\/"}],"reproduction_instructions":"Since all data used in the analysis are restricted, the reproducibility review was conducted through virtual verification following the [Virtual Reproducibility Verification Protocols](https:\/\/worldbank.github.io\/wb-reproducible-research-repository\/guidance\/virtual_reproducibility_verification_protocol.html).\n\nTo reproduce the findings in this paper, a user must:\n1. **Obtain access to the restricted data**: The data used in this paper are restricted and require special permissions. \n2. **Adjust file paths and run the code**: Update the directory specified in line 1 of `master.do` and run the script. All outputs will be generated in the `output` folder.  \nBecause access to the restricted data may not be possible for most users, this package includes the outputs generated by the author and verified by the reviewers. These files can be used to review and validate the results presented in the paper.","data_statement":"All data is restricted and has not been included in the reproducibility package. For more details, please refer to the README file.","scripts":[{"notes":"Computational reproducibility verified by Development Impact (DECDI) Analytics team, World Bank.","instructions":"See README in reproducibility package.","file_name":"RR_PER_2026_603","zip_package":"RR_PER_2026_603.zip","dependencies":"Stata dependencies are listed in the ado folder.","title":"Reproducibility package for Does Automatic Loan Approval Reduce Gender Bias In SME Lending?","date":"2026-03"}],"repository_uri":[{"name":"Reproducible Research Repository (World Bank)","uri":"https:\/\/reproducibility.worldbank.org"}],"abstract":"This paper examines whether automatic credit approval can reduce gender bias in SME lending. We collaborated with a bank in Peru that piloted a new screening tool to generate psychometric credit scores. Applicants who scored above a predefined threshold were automatically offered a loan with a size tied to their score, while those below the threshold were assessed by a loan officer. Using a regression discontinuity design and credit bureau data, we compare loan offers and loan sizes of female and male applicants within a narrow window around the automatic approval threshold. The results show that female applicants below the threshold are less likely to take out loans and receive smaller loan amounts than men. However, this gender bias disappears for applicants above the threshold, suggesting that automated screening methods can reduce loan officer discretion and promote gender equity in lending. "},"datacite":{"language":"en","creators":[{"nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"name":"DECRG"}],"givenName":"Claudia Ruiz","familyName":"Ortega"},{"affiliation":[{"name":"IDB Invest"}],"givenName":"Irani","familyName":"Arraiz","nameType":"Personal"},{"givenName":"Miriam","familyName":"Bruhn","nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"name":"DECRG World Bank"}]}],"titles":[{"lang":"en","title":"Reproducibility package for Does Automatic Loan Approval Reduce Gender Bias In Sme Lending?"},{"title":"RR_PER_2026_603","titleType":"Other"}],"publisher":"World Bank","publicationYear":"2026","types":{"resourceType":"Reproducibility package","resourceTypeGeneral":"Other"},"url":"https:\/\/reproducibility.worldbank.org\/index.php\/catalog\/study\/RR_PER_2026_603"},"tags":[{"tag":"DOI"},{"tag":"Open Code"},{"tag":"Restricted Data"}],"schematype":"script"}