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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

The High Costs Of Small Loans: Understanding Interest Rates In Microfinance, Benjamin W. Hudgens Jan 2011

The High Costs Of Small Loans: Understanding Interest Rates In Microfinance, Benjamin W. Hudgens

CMC Senior Theses

Version:1.0 StartHTML:0000000183 EndHTML:0000003190 StartFragment:0000002393 EndFragment:0000003154 SourceURL:file://localhost/Users/benjaminhudgens/Desktop/Final%20Thesis.docx This thesis will use data from 2009 to examine two questions about the Microfinance industry. First, why do firms charge interest rates well beyond their cost of funds and second, are there important differences at the national level that can help us to understand the high interest rates in Microfinance? I find that interest rates are primarily a result of operating expenses, but profit-status has large effects in developed Microfinance markets. I also find that the Economist Intelligence Unit’s measures of regulatory environment and industrial development explain a large portion of the variation in …


Re-Evaluating Poverty Alleviation Strategies: The Impact Of Microfinance On Child Labor In Bangladesh., Lauren C. Smith Jan 2011

Re-Evaluating Poverty Alleviation Strategies: The Impact Of Microfinance On Child Labor In Bangladesh., Lauren C. Smith

CMC Senior Theses

Microfinance has become one of the most promising tools for development and poverty alleviation over the past two decades. Millions of borrowers around the globe have utilized microcredit to start or expand their small businesses and raise their household income. One poverty-induced problem microfinance could potentially alleviate is child labor. Despite international legislation prohibiting it, child labor continues to deprive millions of children of their right to education. Without education, there is little hope for a country to increase productivity and wealth in the future. A number of scholars have highlighted a negative correlation between credit rationing and child labor. …


A Philosophical Framework For Conditional Cash Transfers, Jaron Abelsohn Jan 2011

A Philosophical Framework For Conditional Cash Transfers, Jaron Abelsohn

CMC Senior Theses

Despite some recent economic progress, there is still widespread poverty and severe inequality in developing countries. According to the World Bank there are over 925 million hungry or undernourished people worldwide. More than 80 percent of people in the world live in countries whose income inequality is rising. Over 2.1 billion people globally live on less than two dollars a day, with over 880 million people facing absolute poverty and living on less than one dollar a day. Three out of four people living on less than $1 a day live in rural areas. These impacts have been magnified by …