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Research and Applications

PERC is a non-profit organization dedicated to finding Information Solutions for Development Challenges worldwide. Going beyond the standard think tank model of solely carrying out research and producing reports, our staff develops real-world applications and works with policy makers at all levels to bring about the change we seek.

Find out more: About PERC

Serving the Missing Middle

PERC's mission is to serve the Missing Middle, the almost 4 billion people above the global poverty line who do not have access to affordable mainstream credit, by utilizing a new type of economic development: information-led development.

Find out more: Information-Led Development, Who are the missing middle?

Overcoming the Catch-22

Up to 70 million Americans are excluded from the financial mainstream because of the Credit Catch-22: you need to have a history of debt to get credit. PERC's Alternative Data Initiative has already helped many Americans overcome this Catch-22 and access affordable mainstream credit.

Find out more: Alternative Data Initiative

Smart Disaster Recovery

PERC has developed metrics for the Louisiana Recovery Agency and the World Bank to track small business recovery from natural disasters.

Find out more: Gulf Coast Economic Renewal

Donate to PERC

You can help support PERC's mission of global asset building by donating via Paypal. PERC is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization incorporated in the state of North Carolina. All donations are tax deductible.


Roadmap to Reform: Lessons from around the world to guide consumer credit reporting reform in Australia

Roadmap to Reform: Lessons from around the world to guide consumer credit reporting reform in Australia
October 2008
Roadmap to Reform: Lessons from around the world to guide consumer credit reporting reform in Australia

PERC's Roadmap to Reform details the benefits of comprehensive credit reporting, as well as detailing transitional challenges of switching to a full-file system.

Information Sharing and SMME Financing in South Africa: A Survey of the Landscape

Information Sharing and SMME Financing in South Africa: A Survey of the Landscape
September 2008
Information Sharing and SMME Financing in South Africa: A Survey of the Landscape

This report focuses on the current state of credit access for small, medium, and micro-enterprises in South Africa. In particular, it examines barriers to credit access and viable near-term solutions to reduce or eliminate those barriers.

Recovering But Not Recovered: Gulf Coast Businesses Three Years Later

Recovering But Not Recovered: Gulf Coast Businesses Three Years Later
August 2008

This is a follow-up to the 2007 small business survey and provides further insight as to the progress of recovery from the hurricanes of 2005. As with the 2007 survey, this year’s survey asked small business owners and operators about the changing state of their business since the 2005 hurricanes, and since August of 2007.

Financial Impacts of Disaster: What We Can Learn from Credit File Data

Financial Impacts of Disaster: What We Can Learn from Credit File Data
August 2008
Financial Impacts of Disaster: What We Can Learn from Credit File Data

This report sheds additional light on the impact and aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the storms of 2005 on individuals, businesses, and communities of the Gulf Coast, using datasets previously not used for such purposes.

You Score You Win: The Consequences of Giving Credit Where Credit is Due

You Score You Win: The Consequences of Giving Credit Where Credit is Due
July 2008
You Score You Win:  The Consequences of Giving Credit Where Credit is Due

A follow-up to PERC's ground-breaking report on alternative data, this study examines the long-term effects of using non-traditional data in credit files using quantitative analysis.

The Structure of Information Sharing and Credit Access: Lessons for Policy

The Structure of Information Sharing and Credit Access: Lessons for Policy
July 2008
The Structure of Information Sharing and Credit Access: Lessons for Policy

This white-paper, produced for the Asia-Pacific Credit Coalition, outlines recent developments in the economic impact of information sharing in consumer credit markets.

Using non-traditional data for underwriting loans to thin-file borrowers: Evidence, tips, and precautions

Using non-traditional data for underwriting loans to thin-file borrowers: Evidence, tips, and precautions
March 2008
Using non-traditional data for underwriting loans to thin-file borrowers

This paper, published in the Journal of Risk Management in Financial Institutions, demonstrates the value of non-traditional data as a powerful tool for consumer credit risk assessment while highlighting some of the potential risks and precautions that lenders need to think about before using these tools.

Credit Access

Asia-Pacific Credit Coalition

APCC is a PERC-managed coalition committed to promoting a regional standard for full-file, comprehensive consumer credit reporting to private credit bureaus within the 21 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member economies. Please visit PERC's coalition for credit standards in the APEC region, the Asia-Pacific Credit Coalition

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