Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Microfinance And Women's Empowerment: An Empirical Evidence In Vietnam, Anh Phuoc Thien Nguyen

Honors Theses and Capstones

The study measures an impact of microfinance on women’s empowerment with a case study on TYM Funds, a Vietnamese microfinance program initiated by Vietnam’s Women Union. The purpose of the study is to examine whether microfinance participants are more empowered than non-members, and whether membership duration enhances the degree of empowerment among the clients. The author constructs the empowerment indices based on three subdimensions: Economic Security, Household Major Decision, and Community Involvement. The empirical data is built on TYM Funds’ impact assessment survey, which was conducted on 544 women including in-training clients, new clients and mature clients. A logistic regression …

The Impact Of Microfinance On Poverty Reduction In Egypt: An Empirical Study, Hala Elhadidi

Business Administration

Microfnance has become a critical tool in credit markets for poverty reduction and socioeconomic development. Yet its impact is still questioned and varies from one country to another and from urban to rural areas. This article examines the role of Egyptian micro nance on household income. A cross-sectional survey interviewed 780 established and new clients in Greater Cairo and rural areas in Egypt. The strati ed random method was used to collect the data from urban and rural districts. The ndings, using multinomial logistics, reveal that micro nance had a positive impact on the household income of women borrowers who …

Microfinance: Combating World Poverty One Small Business At A Time, Alison Basney

Senior Honors Theses

Poverty is a major problem that reaches millions of people around the world. Although many organizations and individuals work daily to combat this, much of the work done to reduce poverty lacks sustainability and serves only to remedy to the effects of poverty, rather than create a solution to the causes of poverty. Microfinance can be very basically defined as the provision of banking to the impoverished who would not otherwise have access to these services. This purpose of this thesis is to show that microfinance is the ideal solution to the poverty problem by using research and evidence from …

The Impacts Of Commercialization On Depth, Breadth, Scope, And Quality Of Outreach In Mozambique: A Case-Study, Courtney Johnson

Stevenson Center for Community and Economic Development—Student Research

In today’s microfinance, scholars and policy-makers across the world have emphasized the importance of financial sustainability, or the ability of a microfinance institution (MFI) to finance its operations. In order to reach financial sustainability, MFIs embrace commercialization, a process where an MFI undergoes restructuring in order to open up avenues to capital. Yet, scholars are concerned that this emphasizes on financial sustainability will cause the social good objective to suffer, a phenomenon known as “trade-off.” Indeed, studies have found that commercialization impacts MFI outreach in various ways. To my knowledge, no research has attempted to understand the impacts of commercialization …

Microcredit And Survival Microenterprises: The Role Of Market Structure, P.V. Viswanath

Faculty Working Papers

Poverty remains a pervasive problem all over the world, but the problem is worst in underdeveloped areas like Africa. While microfinance is supposed to address this problem through the promotion of viable businesses, it has not been very successful in helping survival microenterprises, i.e., businesses that the very poor with limited human capital have access to, in sectors with low barriers to entry and selling undifferentiated products. In this paper, I examine the role of market structure in mediating the impact of micro-lending to such survival enterprises. While there have been many evaluations of microfinance institutions (MFIs), there have been …

Formalizing Through Finances: A Case Study With Unics, Leah Kellenberger

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper seeks to analyze the microfinance industry in Yaoundé, Cameroon through the lens of the microfinance institution UNICS. The main question guiding this study deals with whether or not the UNICS is encouraging a shift to the formal sector through their work with business people. Other questions relating to repayment rates and subsequently economic development also remain pertinent to the information found. In total, it is found that UNICS seeks to encourage formal sector growth through their work with businesspeople in the informal. Repayment rates however do not determine success of any aspect of a customer’s business or encouragement …

Aspirations As A Component Of Life Satisfaction: A Look At Female Microfinance Borrowers In Oaxaca, Mexico, Joseph E. Kemler

Master's Theses

This research is an extension to the Oaxaca Hope Project by B. Wydick and T.J. Lybbert. How does an individual gauge her own satisfaction with life? Previous research has noted that many domains make up overall life satisfaction, i.e. career satisfaction, family life satisfaction & social life satisfaction. A burgeoning topic in this regard is the role that aspirations play in life satisfaction. Using survey data from female microfinance borrowers in Oaxaca, Mexico this project attempts to analyze the affect previous aspirations have on life satisfaction. By creating an “aspirational window” we objectively attempt to gauge the relationship between “high” …

Social Networks In The Context Of Microfinance And Intimate Partner Violence In Bangladesh: A Mixed-Methods Study, Nadine S. Murshid, Allison Zippay

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This mixed-methods study draws from social network theory to examine disclosure and help seeking for intimate partner violence among microfinance participants in Bangladesh. This study uses data on women from the nationally representative Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey 2007 and from in-depth interviews with 30 microfinance participants in Dhaka. Propensity Score Matching analyses indicated that increase in social contacts due to microfinance participation was not associated with disclosing IPV. Responses from the urban sample indicated that reasons for nondisclosure include feelings of shame, stigma, and fear of being perceived as weak by others. Implications regarding how microfinance organizations can tap …

Information Asymmetry Between Microfinance Banks And Poor Women In Oyo State, Nigeria: A Critical Examination, Adesoji Tayo, Yacob Haliso, Omolara Tayo

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Nigeria like any other developing country is facing the problems of poverty, Nigeria’s case is peculiar given the country’s natural endowment in agriculture, mineral resources, crude oil, human capital and friendly climatic conditions. World Bank estimated that over 70 percent of Nigerians are classified as poor, and half of this number lives in absolute poverty. Indeed, part of the experience in rural development in Nigeria has clearly shown that efforts at expanding the economic base of the rural areas almost always fail because of scarcity of and restrictive access to loanable funds.

Poverty alleviation is perhaps one of the most …

Influence Of Information Asymmetry On Microfinance Lending To Women In Oyo State, Nigeria: A Critical Examination, Adesoji Tayo, Yacob Haliso, Omolara Tayo

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Poverty is perhaps one of the most difficult challenges bedeviling the developing countries of the world today. Statistical evidences show that there has been a surge in poverty since 1960 in Nigeria. The level of poverty between 2004 and 2010, rose from 54.4%, to 69% and by 2011, relative poverty had risen to about 71.5% (National Bureau of Statistics NBS (2012). Poverty alleviation has been a rather herculean venture because the causes of poverty are ubiquitous and the solution to the problem would require a mix of interventions and programmes in an integrated manner. Microfinance was adopted by Nigeria as …

Collapsing Microfinance Institutions In Ghana: An Account Of How Four Expanded And Imploded In The Ashanti Region, Festival Godwin Boateng, Stephen Nortey, Jonas Asamanin Barnie, Peter Dwumah, Martin Acheampong, Eunice Ackom-Sampene

International Journal of African Development

The study inquired into the collapse of four microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. It was found that the collapses primarily were due to unduly risky, unethical and illegal practices, mismanagement and disregard for due diligence, compounded by external factors like macroeconomic instabilities and panic withdrawals, which then pushed the risk levels of the MFIs beyond the point of containment. The paper argues that the 2013 macroeconomic crisis in Ghana only contributed to the pervasiveness of the collapses – the crisis was not a root cause.

Exploring The Impact Of Information And Communication Technology (Ict) On Intermediation Market Structure In The Microfinance Industry, Frederick Riggins, David Weber

The African Journal of Information Systems

The microfinance industry provides financial services to the world’s poor in hopes of moving individuals and families out of poverty. In 2013 there were 4.7 million active microfinance borrowers in Africa. This represents a smaller percentage of the population compared to other regions of the world, indicating the potential for rapid growth of microfinance in Africa. However, microfinance is maturing, in part due to the adoption of information and communication technologies (ICTs). This research examines how ICTs are changing the microfinance industry given recent advancements in mobile banking, Internet usage, and connectivity. By examining the microfinance market structure, we determine …

Responsible Microfinance Bundling: Experimental Evidence On Separating Insurance And Credit Offers, Vance J. Larsen

Open Access Theses

In recent years combining multiple financial products into one package in a process known as bundling has become more common among microfinance institutions (MFIs). While bundling can be beneficial to MFIs by cutting costs and providing protection from client default, the implications for MFI customers are less clear. Bundling the products may take advantage of the existing relationship between the financial institution and the client to expand microinsurance access and take-up, but alternatively offering too many products could lead to low client understanding and thus low take-up of the product. We conducted a randomized field experiment to determine if separating …

Making Microfinance Work: Exploring Effective Strategies To Promote Tanzanian Women’S Economic And Social Status Through Microfinance, Kate E. Grantham

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This study explores the possibility of using microfinance to improve the economic and social status of women in Tanzania. As originally conceived, microfinance involved the provision of small loans, or “credit,” to help poor individuals start or strengthen small business ventures. The perceived success of this credit-focused, group liability model early on generated considerable international attention, and brought women into the center of development planning. Beginning in the mid-1990s, a surge of critical scholarship emerged to challenge early assumptions about the relationship between microfinance, poverty reduction and women’s empowerment. Today, academic and popular media discussions of microfinance have devolved into …

Akhuwat: Potential For A Sustainable Islamic Interest Free Microfinance Model, Juliana S. Beall

Scripps Senior Theses

This study will examine if Akhuwat provides a sustainable Islamic interest-free Microfinance model for potential poverty alleviation. This question is particularly complicated for an organization that relies so heavily on subsidies. Theoretical debates of sustainability and the recognition of donations, cross-market comparisons, and data from audit reports will validate Akhuwat’s potential for long term sustainability. Analysis also highlights the discrepancies that plague this opaque industry.

Evolving Approaches To The Economics Of Public Policy: Views Of Award-Winning Economists, Jean Kimmel Editor

Upjohn Press

For policymakers, economics is a useful tool in the development and evaluation of public policy. And like many sciences, economics is evolving to become more interdisciplinary in its approach. Today, economic theory is often used in conjunction with insights gleaned from psychology and sociology to create a more inclusive, real-world approach to implementing public policy. In this book, five award-winning economists tackle a diverse range of topics and show how applied economics has evolved to give policymakers a more nuanced approach to policy development. The award-winning economists included in this volume are Erica Field, Nancy Folbre, Avner Grief, David M. …

The Pitfalls Of The Microfinance Promise, Kelleen R. Mull

Global Tides

The validity of microfinance institutions as poverty alleviation instruments is drawn into question by the structure and practices of the industry, which hinder the efficiency and depth of aid. This paper aims to outline the history and popularity of microfinance, followed by the difficulties of its implementation. Then, it will explain the status of research in the field, microcredit’s role in the empowerment of women, and the perception of microfinance in the West. Finally, it will discuss the monumental shifts within the industry based on ideological opinions and the consequential negative effects on the field.

Evaluating The Impact Of Integrated Microfinance And Reproductive (Mf/Rh) Services On Household Wellbeing And Reproductive Health Behaviors Of Women In Nigeria, Population Council

Reproductive Health

A growing body of studies attempts to show that microfinance institutions are capable of contributing to improvements in women’s reproductive health (RH) status by integrating information that leads to behavioral change. In Nigeria, there is little evidence documenting the impact and health outcomes among beneficiaries of integrated microfinance and reproductive health (MF/RH) service. The integrated MF/RH program, funded by The David & Lucile Packard Foundation and implemented by Partners for Development, provided an opportunity to test the impact of integrating RH messaging and support for service provision into a microcredit scheme. The objective of this integrated approach was to improve …

The Effects Of Grameen-Model Microfinance Institutions And Self-Help Group Microfinance On Women’S Economic Empowerment In Rural India, Forrest Weaver

Dissertations and Theses

Women in rural India suffer from pervasive gender inequality and disempowerment. One road to equality is economic empowerment through microfinance. Economic empowerment consists of an increase in savings, income, ownership of property or a microenterprise, and access to social services and training. I compile studies of two most common types of microfinance models used in India in order to determine if there is a general trend indicating that microfinance as a whole has a positive impact on women’s economic empowerment. The two types of microfinance examined are Grameen-model microfinance institutions (MFIs) and Self-Help groups (SHGs) through the SHG-Bank linkage model. …

Gender Bias In Microlending: Do Opposites Attract?, Kanyinsola Adepoju

Master's Theses

This study exploits a quasi-random assignment of clients to loan officers using a unique database and survey from a large microfinance bank in Nigeria to show that opposite-sex preferences affect credit demand and supply. We find that clients matched to loan officers of the opposite gender are more likely to receive credit and are more likely to return for an additional loan with the credit lender.

Helping A Microfinance Institution Select Its Clients: A Risk Analysis Using Social Networks, Sayantan Mitra, Varunavi Newar

Black & Gold

This paper formulates an objective mathematical model for a Microfinance Institution (MFI) to measure the credit worthiness associated with a potential client. We use concepts from network theory to determine the credit worthiness of an individual in relation to other households in the community. We use the concept of eigenvector centrality to evaluate the relative credit worthiness in the network. The latter part of the model focuses on the absolute measures of credit worthiness such as income, ownership of assets and risk of the proposed investment. This model would help MFIs reduce the risk of borrowing by ensuring that there …

The Scarlet Market: The Economic Framework Of Sex Trafficking And Microfinance As A Proactive Solution, Hannah M. Demarest

Selected Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Integration Of Waqf And Islamic Microfiance For Poverty Reduction, Mohamed Aslam Haneef Prof., Ataul Huq Pramanik Prof., Mustafa Omar Mohamme Dr., Aliyu Dahiru Dr.

Aliyu Dahiru

This report presents the output of two-year collaboration between SESRIC and the Centre for Islamic Economics of International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM) on a research project that covered three OIC countries namely, Malaysia, Indonesia and Bangladesh. The research project aimed at developing an integrated Waqf-based Islamic microfinance model to optimize the use of combined resources of Waqf and Islamic microfinance institutions in OIC countries with a view to enhancing the effectiveness of IMF and Waqf institutions in addressing the socio-economic needs of the society, particularly through effective poverty alleviation programs. The report consists of four main sections. The first …

"Microfinance As A Determinant Of Domestic Violence In Bangladesh: Who Is At Risk?", Alvin Christian

Dissertations and Theses

This paper examines the impact that microfinance participation has on reported domestic violence rates among women in Bangladesh. While microfinance programs are aimed at reducing poverty, they may have unintended consequence and contribute to domestic violence or Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). Using nationally representative data from the Urban Health Survey (2006), I study the association between microfinance participation and domestic violence among currently married women. The outcome variable is domestic violence, which is coded as a dummy variable, where a women either has experienced domestic violence episodes or she hasn’t. Predictor variables include microfinance participation, community attitudes, liberal views, labor …

The “Other” Side Of Wall Street: Banking, Policies, And Adaptive Methods Of U.S. Migrant Workers, Cassandra Rae Decker

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Migrant farmworkers' social and economic mobility is frequently constrained through the denial of basic resources, such as access to the formal financial sector. This thesis ethnographically examines banking policies as they apply to low-income, mobile, populations that temporarily reside in Florida. It utilizes participant observation, interviews, and participatory mapping with migrant farmworkers. It also considers how policymakers and service providers in the formal and informal financial sectors rationalize control of resources and the effects on mobile populations. Particular attention is paid to adaptive practices in the alternative financial sector – cash checking services, carrying cash, and remittances. By utilizing the …

Beyond The Economic: The Freedoms, Capabilities, And Social Capital Of Latin American Women Entrepreneurs In San Francisco, Melia M. Vilain

Master's Theses

In light of the scholarly debate surrounding the goals and mixed effects of development programs, particularly in recent years in relation to microfinance, this study investigates the effects of economic development programs on Latin American women entrepreneurs in San Francisco’s Mission District. It demonstrates that microfinance, when combined with education, can provide important non-economic benefits that contribute to increased freedoms and capabilities for immigrant women entrepreneurs. Drawing on qualitative interviews with ten business owners, as well as a review of the existing literature surrounding development, immigration, and gender, this research argues that owning a business in the US can produce …

Essays On Savings Behavior Of Low-Income Households In Colombia, Luz M. Salas

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

I designed and implemented a Randomized Controlled Trial to study whether relatively simple modifications to how a commitment savings product was framed and labeled could affect savings accumulations and other outcomes of low-income individuals in newly formed Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) in Colombia. Motivated by hypotheses from behavioral economics, the experiment tests hypotheses that behavioral responses should vary depending on whether subjects are led to label and create `mental savings accounts' in private or public ways. Individuals in the private-labeling treatment groups were led to label their savings as earmarked for a particular purpose and to state savings …

Finance And Social Responsibility In The Informal Economy: Institutional Voids, Globalization And Microfinance Institutions, Hao Liang, Chris Marquis, Sunny Li Sun

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

We examine how different types of country-level globalization and the industry structure of microfinance institutions (MFIs) affect organization-level microcredit interest rates which crucially affect the poor's entrepreneurial opportunities. We develop an opportunity structure perspective that argues that MFI interest rates can be reduced by egalitarian-based social globalization but increased by neoliberal-based economic globalization. Moreover, stronger presence of nonprofit organizations in the microfinance industry lowers interest rates. Furthermore, these three forces can moderate the relationship between MFIs' outreach to the poor and average interest rate. Analyses of 2,559 MFI observations across 74 countries from 2002 - 2012 largely support our hypotheses.

The Law And Economics Of Microfinance, Katherine Helen Mary Hunt

Katherine Helen Mary Hunt

Financial inclusion may be jargon which appeals to international donors and academics, but the strategic implementation in developing countries is often based on international du jour priorities, such as microfinance. The topic of microfinance is highly debated in the academic literature, although little empirical work has been published. Further, no literature to date has considered microfinance from a law and economics perspective. This paper seeks to contribute to the gap in the literature by considering how microfinance has evolved to address the credit market failure, and how microfinance regulation should be designed to promote long term financial inclusion via financially …

Debtor's Empowerment: Muhammad Yunus And The Rhetoric Of Microfinance, Kaleb W. Brooks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis analyzes the rhetoric of Muhammad Yunus as an articulation of a new governing logic, one that reconstitutes the concept of poverty and binds the poor to the apparatus of global capitalism through a new logic of micro-enterprise. Working within a Foucauldian critical framework informed by the rhetorical scholarship of Ronald W. Greene and Joshua Hanan, the argument proceeds by first paying careful attention to Yunus' work as constitutive of a new grid of intelligibility through which to view the poor and then demonstrating the application of this reformed discourse on "creditworthiness" in articulating a novel regime of commensuration. …