Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™
Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 1 of 1
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Is Microfinance Raising Village Income? The Issue Of Excess Entry, Catherine C. De Fontenay
Is Microfinance Raising Village Income? The Issue Of Excess Entry, Catherine C. De Fontenay
Catherine de Fontenay
This paper provides new insight into the question of why we have not seen microfinance pro- grams lift beneficiary regions out of poverty. We suggest that the explanation may lie in the industry choice of microfinance participants: if borrowers tend to enter imperfectly competitive sectors, such as retail, there may be a “business-stealing” effect that reduces incomes of existing businesses. Our model shows that microfinance may lower total incomes at the village level. The result is related to the classic Mankiw and Whinston result on excess entry. The results imply that microfinance organizations may want to steer recipients away from …