Microfinance’s Impact on Education, Poverty, and Empowerment: A Case Study from the Bolivian Altiplano

This study explores the impact of microcredits on the economic, educational, and empowerment levels of women from the Bolivian high plains who had acquired microcredits for over three years. Primary research was carried out with the help of a major NGO dedicated solely to microcredits. One hundred in-depth personal interviews were conducted by the author in La Paz and El Alto from February to May 2007. This region was chosen because of the wide extent to which microcredits have been implemented there since the 1980s. The author also created a control group of women who had never taken out a microcredit loan. The study employs the use of an established poverty scorecard to measure poverty levels over time. Using a comparative approach that allows a comparison between the independent control group and the loan group, the study found that while the ownership of goods increased in the loan group, the benefits of microcredits on family educational attainment levels and empowerment were questionable. It is important to note that the vast majority of microcredit research does not use this type of independent control group.