Wide agreement about the goal of microfinance—to improve the welfare of the poor—has not led to wide agreement about how best to achieve that goal. To aid discussion, I propose a framework for outreach—the social benefits of microfinance—in terms of six aspects: worth, cost, depth, breadth, length, and scope. The framework encompasses both the poverty approach to microfinance and the self-susta...

Present paper intends to measure the determinants of performance of Indian financial sector. The performance variables of banking sector and microfinance institutions in India are studied over a study period of six years i.e. 2006-07 to 2011-12. The financial sector of India is gaining strength over the years and its contribution to growth is overwhelming. Banks are considered the main componen...

ALTHOUGH SOCIAL GRADIENTS IN MORBIDITY AND MORtality fromscrofula, rickets,andscarlet feverwerenoticedinEnglandasearlyas1845,currentunderstandingof therelationshipbetweenpovertyandillhealth is still evolving. A detailed examination of the social determinants of health is the current focus of a World Health OrganizationCommission,andaglobalagendathataddressestheoverlappingvulnerabilitiesofpovert...

OBJECTIVE To assess the impact on health-related outcomes, of group microfinance schemes based on collective empowerment. METHODS We searched the databases Social Sciences Citation Index, Embase, MEDLINE, MEDLINE In-Process, PsycINFO, Social Policy & Practice and Conference Proceedings Citation Index for articles published between 1 January 1980 and 29 February 2016. Articles reporting on hea...

The purpose of this research is to investigate and focus on the high cost of microfinance loans which are provided by banks. The high costs are one of the main problems, facing the microfinance programs in its persuit to help the poor and the low income households. This research followed the descriptive approach, to investigate the problem of this research. Questionnaires were used as the main ...

Answering surveys is usually voluntary, yet much of our knowledge depends on the willingness of households and institutions to answer. We explore the implications of voluntary reporting on knowledge about microfinance. We show systematic biases in microfinance institutions’ choices about which survey to respond to and which specific indicators to report. The analysis focuses on data for 2,072 m...

Information asymmetry is one of the fundamental problems that online peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms face. This problem becomes more acute when platforms are used for microfinance, where the targeted customers are mostly economically under-privileged people. Most of the prior empirical studies have been based on data from Prosper.com or similar sites that compete in traditional consumer lo...

This paper studies TRAIL, a variation on traditional microfinance, where a microfinance institution appoints local intermediaries (traders or informal moneylenders) as agents to recommend borrowers for individual liability loans. Agents earn commissions that depend on loan repayments. There are no peer monitoring, group meetings or savings requirements. The loans are designed to finance agricul...

Microfinance institutions focus on providing financial services for low-income citizens who typically lack access to traditional banking systems. In recent years there has been an significant growth in the number of online microlending sites that connect lenders to microfinance institutions and individuals that require funding. Although traditional (offline) microfinance has been widely studied...

considering the expansion of global poverty and its resulting concerns, the objectives of the millennium development goals (mdgs) may not be achieved unless a solution is found for this widespread phenomenon. therefore finding a solution for poverty reduction and improving the welfare of the vulnerable group has become a universal objective. this paper discusses the poor performance of formal f...