Batik, Kredit, Produktivitas: Efek Kausal Kredit Bersubsidi bagi UMKM di Pekalongan, Klaster Lasem
Abstract
The impact of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise (MSME) credit on increasing artisan cluster productivity is a contested issue with evidence suggesting both significant potential for local economic growth and persistent challenges in implementation. This article examines batik enterprises in Pekalongan and Lasem clusters (of Central Java) to assess whether credit increases value creation rather than merely expanding turnover. The study estimates the causal impact of MSME lending on productivity and upgrading outcomes, and also identifies mechanisms and beneficiary profiles that cause these effects. A longitudinal panel of batik firms is linked to administrative lending records and leveraged through program rollouts and branch-level lending-quota shocks that shift loan take-up. The empirical strategy combines difference-in-differences with firm and time fixed effects, and also instrumental-variables estimation (2SLS), with event-study diagnostics to assess pre-trends and dynamic impacts. Outcomes include value added per worker, gross margins, product upgrading, exporter status, and resilience. Results indicate statistically significant gains in value added and margins via working-capital smoothing and selective equipment upgrading, especially among younger, digitally adopting firms, with no evidence of displacement.
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