Class of 2005 Public Policy Microfinance has been a force of growing importance over the past few decades as a tool for grass-roots economic development. Each stage of development presents new challenges to expansion, and it is important for microfinance researchers, practitioners and policy-makers to fully understand these challenges when deciding where to allocate resources and efforts. Both ...

This paper examines the impact of microfinance institutions on development in an empirical setting, and therewith aims at filling a gap in econometric assessments of microfinance institutions. Using data of MFIs operating in selected African and Asian countries and choosing average savings and loan balances per client as proxies for development, there is empirical evidence for significant posit...

By drawing analogies with independent research areas, we propose an unorthodox framework for mapping microfinance credit risk--a major obstacle to the sustainability of lenders outreaching to the poor. Specifically, using the elements of network theory, we constructed an agent-based model that obeys the stylized rules of microfinance industry. We found that in a deteriorating economic environme...

Microfinance institutions are considered as an effective tool for achieving the objective of financial inclusion. To achieve this objective it is necessitate that MFIs should be sustainable while reaching the poorest of poor. After the Andhra Pradesh Microfinance Crisis, 2010 sustainability and outreach of MFIs in India is doubtful and questionable. Present paper attempts to look into various d...

This study attempts to examine the operational efficiency of thirty-two microfinance institutions in India. Operational efficiency in microfinance institutions refers to how well microfinance institutions allocate the input resources. Since the study is an exploratory nature, therefore, the data are collected from mix market on annual basis. It covers the seven-year period ranging from 2005-06 ...

This study was undertaken to investigate the impact of microfinance on agricultural productivity by smallholder farmers in Makurdi Metropolis of Benue State, Nigeria. Data were randomly collected from 120 farmers consisting of 60 credit beneficiaries (CB) and 60 non-credit beneficiaries (NCB) by which were analyzed through descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis. The results of ...

Technology, innovation, and knowledge have become the key drivers of economic growth today. A broad scan, across many industry verticals, suggests that much of the economic growth of the last decade has been facilitated by the existence of strong technology platforms. The effective absorption and utilization of data and information is extremely important for any sector at various developmental ...

The Intervention with Microfinance for AIDS and Gender Equity (IMAGE) combines microfinance, gender/HIV training and community mobilization (CM) in South Africa. A trial found reduced intimate partner violence among clients but less evidence for impact on sexual behaviour among clients' households or communities. This process evaluation examined how feasible IMAGE was to deliver and how accessi...

Microfinance services available to the poorest people, especially investment loans for micro-business development, are recognized as an important part of poverty reduction strategies. As the industry matures, MFIs face a competitive environment, forcing them to balance the goals of outreach and sustainability. However, in spite of its successes, microfinance has not been able to reach to the po...

Deep global poverty persists despite decades of coordinated development efforts seeking to eradicate it. Recent literature has taken a new approach to defining the underlying mechanisms of lasting poverty in terms of asset ownership and the ways in which households accumulate productive assets over time. Using a panel data set from Bangladesh, this study identifies the productive assets of rura...