This paper examines the impact of microfinance institutions on development in an empirical setting, and therewith aims at filling a gap in econometric assessments of microfinance institutions. Using data of MFIs operating in selected African and Asian countries and choosing average savings and loan balances per client as proxies for development, there is empirical evidence for significant posit...

— With the rise in the number of for-profit microfinance institutions (MFIs), commentators are asking whether the sector benefits by MFIs having stronger profit orientations. We address this question by analyzing the relationship between interest rates and adopting the for-profit legal form, appointing private sector representation and traditional banking experience to advisory boards, and part...

Microcredit fights poverty by expanding access to credit. Some microfinance institutions (MFIs) focus on maximizing profits, and do so while lending to the poor. Others seek to maximize access for the poor subject to a budget constraint. Regardless, nearly all MFIs face pressure from policymakers, donors, and investors to eliminate their reliance on subsidies. Economic modeling, policy, and pra...

The aim of this article is to produce a comprehensive analysis of the performance of microfinance institutions (MFIs) in terms of repayment. We use 1629 loan observations to analyze with a probit the determinants of the repayment performance of borrowers of the BRAC, the BRDB and the Grameen Bank. We test for endogeneity of the size and duration of the loan in the determination of repayment and...

ALTHOUGH SOCIAL GRADIENTS IN MORBIDITY AND MORtality fromscrofula, rickets,andscarlet feverwerenoticedinEnglandasearlyas1845,currentunderstandingof therelationshipbetweenpovertyandillhealth is still evolving. A detailed examination of the social determinants of health is the current focus of a World Health OrganizationCommission,andaglobalagendathataddressestheoverlappingvulnerabilitiesofpovert...

March 2005 57 Bindu Ananth is a Manager at ICICI Bank. She has worked in ICICI Bank's microfinance practice for over three years and is currently the co-ordinator of the Centre for MicroFinance Research. The views presented in this paper are solely those of the author and do not in any way reflect the views of ICICI Bank. Capital constraint is an issue impeding scaling up of microfinance in Ind...

Manuscript Type: Empirical Research Question/Issue: We utilize institutional theory to examine corporate governance in microfinance institutions (MFIs). Many MFIs operate at the bottom of the economic pyramid (BOP), which is usually agrarian, impoverished, and plagued with institutional voids. We investigate the link between the composition of the boards of MFIs and the ability of the MFIs to f...

Finding ways to downscale microfinance is one of the current challenges facing commercial banks, especially in developing countries. As banks have a poor knowledge of microfinance, operating in this market will require capacity-building, innovative business models and new technological architectures. This paper discusses how one particular architecture – the Brazilian model of correspondent ban...

Microfinance plays an important role in the improvement of the livelihood of people especially in developing countries. The provision of microfinance services (such as micro loans, insurance, savings and technical assistance, among others) are considered as good measures for the reduction of poverty and levels of unemployment. The expansion of microfinance services has been accompanied with unp...