Pii: S0305-750x(99)00151-5

Ð Leading advocates for micro®nance have put forward an enticing ``win-win'' proposition: micro®nance institutions that follow the principles of good banking will also be those that alleviate the most poverty. This vision forms the core of widely-circulated ``best practices,'' but as a general proposition the vision is fully supported neither by logic nor by the available empirical evidence. Recognizing the limits to the win-win proposition is an important step toward reaching a more constructive dialogue between micro®nance advocates that privilege ®nancial development and those that privilege social impacts. Ó 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.