Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™
Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 25 of 25
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Building Better Lives: Sustainable Integration Of Microfinance And Education In Child Survival, Reproductive Health, And Hiv/Aids Prevention For The Poorest Entrepreneurs, Christopher Dunford
Building Better Lives: Sustainable Integration Of Microfinance And Education In Child Survival, Reproductive Health, And Hiv/Aids Prevention For The Poorest Entrepreneurs, Christopher Dunford
Journal of Microfinance / ESR Review
This paper provides diverse examples of microfinance institutions that have responded successfully to the challenge of integrating microfinance with nonfinancial services, without compromising the impacts or sustainability of their microfinance and overall operations. Special attention is given to the integration of microfinance with health education for very poor women, including the promotion of family planning and HIV/AIDS prevention management. The credit and education components reinforce each other by addressing the informational as well as the economic obstacles to health and nutrition. There is good potential for large-scale, self-financing delivery of microfinance and education together in one efficient and effective service …
Seven Aspects Of Loan Size, Mark Schreiner
Seven Aspects Of Loan Size, Mark Schreiner
Journal of Microfinance / ESR Review
Attempts to measure the depth of outreach in microfinance usually start--and often end--with loan size. But just what is loan size? This paper discusses seven aspects of loan size, each of which affects not only depth of outreach but also profitability. The seven aspects are: term to maturity, dollars disbursed, average balance, dollars per installment, time between installments, number of installments, and "dollar-years of borrowed resources." This paper defines the seven aspects, explains why each one matters, and gives examples of their measurement with data from three Latin American microfinance organizations.
Microfinance Impact Assessments: The Perils Of Using New Members As A Control Group, Dean S. Karlan
Microfinance Impact Assessments: The Perils Of Using New Members As A Control Group, Dean S. Karlan
Journal of Microfinance / ESR Review
Microfinance institutions aim to reduce poverty. Some assess their impact through a cross-sectional impact methodology which compares veteran to new participants and then calls any difference between these two groups the "impact" of the program. Such studies have risen recently in popularity because they are cheap, easy to implement, and often encouraged by donors. USAID, through its AIMS project, encourages this methodology with its SEEP/AIMS practitioner-oriented tools. This paper intends to inform practitioners about the perils of using such a strategy, and suggests a couple of solutions to some of the larger problems with this approach.
Institutional Alternatives For The Promotion Of Microfinance: Self-Help Groups In India, P. Satish
Institutional Alternatives For The Promotion Of Microfinance: Self-Help Groups In India, P. Satish
Journal of Microfinance / ESR Review
Microfinance is now an accepted institutional framework for taking financial services to the poor. It is but natural that microfinance should have had tremendous growth in India--the home to the largest concentration of poor. In India the microfinance technology that had a relatively higher growth in the last decade is the self-help group (SHG). This lays stress on thrift as well as credit and also on the linkage between informal groups and formal financial institutions. An important sine qua non in this technology is the institution that promotes the SHGs. In India, SHGs have been promoted by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), …
Rethinking The Approach To The Microenterprise Sector In Latin America: An Intergrating Framework, Jaime Ortiz
Rethinking The Approach To The Microenterprise Sector In Latin America: An Intergrating Framework, Jaime Ortiz
Journal of Microfinance / ESR Review
Unavoidable macroeconomic adjustment policies have exacerbated social inequalities in Latin America. As a result, electoral platforms have identified microenterprises as an alternative economic activity to help alleviate poverty. Pursuing an efficient microentrepreneurial base requires from governments a comprehensive package of both financing and training strategies. Conversely, microentrepreneurs require a better understanding of their activity in order to set forward arguments that will allow them to enhance their management practices. Government policies towards the microenterprise sector should create favorable conditions conducive to the establishment and operation of financial institutions as well as specialized nongovernmental organizations providing training and consulting. Within that …
Book Review: Mainstreaming Microfinance By Elisabeth Rhyne, Monte L. Lynn
Book Review: Mainstreaming Microfinance By Elisabeth Rhyne, Monte L. Lynn
Journal of Microfinance / ESR Review
No abstract provided.
Announcements, Journal Of Microfinance
Announcements, Journal Of Microfinance
Journal of Microfinance / ESR Review
No abstract provided.
Microcredit And The Rural Poor: A Review Of The Maharashtra Rural Credit Project, Raghav Gaiha
Microcredit And The Rural Poor: A Review Of The Maharashtra Rural Credit Project, Raghav Gaiha
Journal of Microfinance / ESR Review
An attempt is made to review the Maharashtra Rural Credit Project (MRCP)--a microcredit scheme--by focusing on the process of implementation and its implications for targeting, empowerment of women, and trade-off between coverage of the poorest and sustainability of this scheme. Attention is drawn to deficiencies in the design and implementation of this scheme that limit the participation of the poorest and the benefits accruing to them. Moreover, it is argued that there is a risk of overstating the trade-off between the coverage of the poorest and sustainability of the MRCP if these deficiencies are overlooked.
Front Matter, Journal Of Microfinance
Front Matter, Journal Of Microfinance
Journal of Microfinance / ESR Review
No abstract provided.
Financial Performance Of Selected Microfinance Institutions: Benchmarking Progress To Sustainability, Michael Tucker
Financial Performance Of Selected Microfinance Institutions: Benchmarking Progress To Sustainability, Michael Tucker
Journal of Microfinance / ESR Review
A few microfinance institutions (MFIs) have implemented best business practices and made the transition to fully regulated financial institutions. Many more are in the process of undertaking this transformation or at least considering it. Rising competition among growing numbers of MFIs for both funding and clients has made improved financial performance a necessity for most if not all MFIs. Financial ratios of 17 Latin American MFIs are compared to benchmark performance ratios for the industry and with commercial Latin American banks. This small sample of data, while useful, also underlines the need for more widespread MFI reporting. Complicating reliance on …
Book Review: Women And Microcredit In Rural Bangladesh By Aminur Rahman, Asif Dowla
Book Review: Women And Microcredit In Rural Bangladesh By Aminur Rahman, Asif Dowla
Journal of Microfinance / ESR Review
No abstract provided.
Vol. 03 No. 2 Journal Of Microfinance, Journal Of Microfinance
Vol. 03 No. 2 Journal Of Microfinance, Journal Of Microfinance
Journal of Microfinance / ESR Review
No abstract provided.
Economy And 'New Economy' In The United States And Germany, Phillip J. Bryson
Economy And 'New Economy' In The United States And Germany, Phillip J. Bryson
Faculty Publications
The expression "New Economy" is used inconsistently. This Article review the driving forces of the US boom of the 1990s, examining the changes introduced in the period and before, focusing on the IT sector and new technologies. The "New Economy" is not just the new sectors, but changes in the overall economy emanating from them. These changes will not evaporate in an economic slowdown. Comparisons of the USA with Germany and Europe illustrate that the "New Economy" will also continue to develop there on the foundations already laid.
Front Matter, Journal Of Microfinance
Front Matter, Journal Of Microfinance
Journal of Microfinance / ESR Review
No abstract provided.
From The Editor, Journal Of Microfinance
From The Editor, Journal Of Microfinance
Journal of Microfinance / ESR Review
No abstract provided.
Microfinance Myopia: Lessons From The Mainstream, Kim Wilson
Microfinance Myopia: Lessons From The Mainstream, Kim Wilson
Journal of Microfinance / ESR Review
This essay attempts to remove the shades that blind the microfinance sector to the value of its customers and what its customers truly value. It proposes that the social agenda and financial health of microfinance institutions would be far more sound if we understood who our customers are, why they leave, what they really want, and the real business we are all in.
Client Information Sharing In Bolivia, Campion, Anita Campion
Client Information Sharing In Bolivia, Campion, Anita Campion
Journal of Microfinance / ESR Review
As the microfinance industry becomes more competitive, microfinance institutions (MFIs) increasingly seek access to credit bureaus and credit information agencies. The growing number of microfinance providers in the market results in borrowers having more access to loans, which can lead to client overindebtedness and default. By sharing client information with each other and by using credit bureau information on client history and indebtedness, MFIs facing competition can reduce their credit risk and avoid unnecessary losses. While the growing interest in credit bureaus for microfinance is global, to date, few countries have credit unions and even fewer include microfinance clients in …
How To Reduce Arrears In Microfinance Institutions, Norell, Dan Norell
How To Reduce Arrears In Microfinance Institutions, Norell, Dan Norell
Journal of Microfinance / ESR Review
Reducing arrears is crucial if MFIs are to achieve selfsufficiency. MFI staff must understand the causes of arrears--whether from clients' testing the MFI's determination to collect, crises in clients' lives, loans that are too large, or loans given on the basis of favoritism. Analytical tools for assessing and preventing arrears include key measures for analyzing arrears (e.g., portfolio quality ratios and performance ratios by credit officer) and financial ratio tests for determining appropriate loan size. The key to reducing arrears is to follow up late loans quickly, form strong solidarity groups, update and enforce credit policies, focus credit officers' services …
Assessing The Need For Microenterprises In Mexico To Borrow Start-Up Capital, Heikki Heino, Jose A. Pagan
Assessing The Need For Microenterprises In Mexico To Borrow Start-Up Capital, Heikki Heino, Jose A. Pagan
Journal of Microfinance / ESR Review
Mexico's microenterprises employ about 20 percent of the working age population in the country, and the number of microenterprises has increased substantially over the last decade. Given the role these small business units play in employment and wealth creation, it is important to understand the profile of firms that resort to outside start-up capital to finance their operations. Using microdata from Mexico's National Survey of Microenterprises (Encuesta Nacional de Micronegocios, ENAMIN), we analyze the socioeconomic factors related to the need for outside start-up capital. The findings show that a relatively small number of socioeconomic factors such as the background of …
India's Regional Rural Banks: The Institutional Dimension Of Reforms, Nitin Bhatt, Y. S. P. Thorat
India's Regional Rural Banks: The Institutional Dimension Of Reforms, Nitin Bhatt, Y. S. P. Thorat
Journal of Microfinance / ESR Review
Efforts to reform India's failing Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) have had limited impact, because reformers have paid little attention to the institutional dimensions of the problems facing the banks. Few efforts were made to redesign the perverse institutional arrangements that gave rise to incompatible incentive structures for key stakeholders, such as political leaders, policy makers, stockholders, bank staff, and clients. We recommend that the next leg of reforms focus on aligning the incentives of these stakeholders by giving greater importance to the RRBs' internal organizational contexts and larger policy environments.
Performance Measures For Microenterprise In The United States, Karen Doyle, Jerry Black
Performance Measures For Microenterprise In The United States, Karen Doyle, Jerry Black
Journal of Microfinance / ESR Review
Microenterprise, while currently serving a small number of America's poor, is often the only option--other than receiving welfare--for a variety of individuals to improve their standard of living or quality of life. MicroTest, a project of the Aspen Institute, was created to improve the value of microenterprise services and the stability of microenterprise organizations over time by perfecting and promoting the use of measures to regularly assess performance. This article proposes a performance measurement framework for U.S. microenterprise development programs. The following key categories of outputs and outcomes can be used to assess the performance of microenterprise development providers: Reaching …
Coordination Failure In The Rural Credit Markets, Mishra, Atul Mishra
Coordination Failure In The Rural Credit Markets, Mishra, Atul Mishra
Journal of Microfinance / ESR Review
This paper tries to explain the curious fact that while at the national level the rural sector saves more than what it invests in itself in India, at the micro level, credit constraint is reported to be the main binding constraint on the activities in the rural economy. The explanation lies in the phenomenon of coordination failure. The public sector rural banks mobilize huge amounts of savings, but because of low rates of interest and high default rates, they do not lend in equal measure. Indeed, in India the public sector rural banks mobilize as savings three times the amount …
Book Review- Microfinance: Conversations With The Experts Edited By Charles Oberdorf, Matthew Wood
Book Review- Microfinance: Conversations With The Experts Edited By Charles Oberdorf, Matthew Wood
Journal of Microfinance / ESR Review
No abstract provided.
Vol. 03 No. 1 Journal Of Microfinance, Journal Of Microfinance
Vol. 03 No. 1 Journal Of Microfinance, Journal Of Microfinance
Journal of Microfinance / ESR Review
No abstract provided.
Appraising Industrial Special-Purpose Properties, Robert G. Crawford, Barrett A. Slade
Appraising Industrial Special-Purpose Properties, Robert G. Crawford, Barrett A. Slade
Faculty Publications
This article proposes a new technique, based on utilization rates, for estimating economic obsolescence in the appraisal of industrial special-purpose properties. A utilization-based measure, which explicitly considers the operating leverage of the facility, allows for proper calculation of the obsolescence. Theoretically correct valuation principles underlie the proposed utilization methodology. The technique uses inputs that are reasonably available to an appraiser, thus providing a practical application of the proposed methodology.