Search results for "Microfinance"

Income characteristics and the use of microfinance services: evidence from economically active persons with disabilities

2013

The purpose of this empirical research from Uganda is to provide initial insight into the ‘black box’ of understanding the economic behaviour of persons with disabilities and about their use of microfinance services. First, we analyse the income levels of persons with disabilities in relation to their sources of income. Second, we study the income sources and income levels for different types of disabilities. Finally, we analyse how income level and income source relate to the use of microfinance services for persons with disabilities. We present evidence that farmers with disabilities and persons with visual impairments have lower income levels than other persons with disabilities. We then…

The use of microfinance services among economically active disabled people: Evidence from Uganda

2010

Authors version of an article in the journal: Journal of International Development. Also available from the publisher at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jid.1720 This study investigates the use of microfinance services among economically active disabled people in Uganda. The findings suggest that disabled people make more use of microfinance services than previously assumed. A total of 89 per cent of the survey's respondents state that they have used at least one type of microfinance service. Informal self-help schemes are more easily accessed than formal institutional schemes, and disabled people access more savings than loans. The multivariate analysis shows that access to microfinance service…

Miniaturizzazione del credito: la microfinanza

2012

’economia dei flussi di cassa è il Leitmotiv di questi anni, e il denaro condiziona i comportamenti individuali e collettivi. Economie tradizionalmente solide entrano in crisi se non riscuotono la fiducia dei mercati, e le famiglie, come le imprese, difficilmente riescono a programmare il proprio futuro senza le risorse finanziarie occorrenti per le proprie attività. Nel complesso periodo che stiamo vivendo, è opinione diffusa che l’uscita dalla crisi economica derivi da cambiamenti epocali nell’organizzazione dei sistemi produttivi e finanziari nonché negli stili di vita, rivisitando il significato stesso di sviluppo economico. In tale contesto la marginalità finanziaria, intesa come vanta…

Microfinance and poverty reduction in Tanzania : experiences from Dar es Salaam

2011

The emergence of micro credit as an effective tool for poverty reduction is widely recognized in the world since the 1990s. The World Bank also values categorically micro credit for poverty alleviation. The financial sector reform in Tanzania in 1991 emphasized the need for micro credit to the poor, in order to enable them to become entrepreneurs. It also aimed at providing household support as a mean of poverty reduction and economic growth. However, a number of constraints exist within this reform, for instance, establishing a new micro finance organization and providing credit access to poor. Therefore entrepreneurship and household income situation is not improving as it is expected by …

Do social enterprises walk the talk? Assessing microfinance performances with mission statements

2019

We study mission drift in social enterprises by examining whether these organizations stick to the actual mission enshrined in their mission statements. We use data from microfinance organizations (MFOs), a homogeneous group of social enterprises which have been scrutinized—and sometimes criticized—for mission drift. We focus on three publicly recognized and non-mutually-exclusive microfinance social missions identified by previous studies: poverty alleviation, women's empowerment, and rural financial inclusion. Based on hand-collected data from 199 MFOs worldwide, our results suggest strong coherence between social missions and actual practices. Hence, we argue that, with respect to MFOs' …

Should all microfinance institutions mobilize microsavings? Evidence from economies of scope

2014

Published version of an article from the journal: Empirical Economics. Also available from the publisher on SpringetLink: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00181-014-0861-3 We extend a recently developed generalized local polynomial estimator into a semiparametric smooth coefficient framework to estimate a generalized cost function. The advantage of the generalized local polynomial approach is that we can simultaneously choose the degree of polynomial for each continuous nonparametric regressor and the bandwidths via data-driven methods. We provide estimates of scope economies from the joint production of microloans and microdeposits for a dataset of Microfinance Institutions from over 50 countrie…

Boards in microfinance institutions: how do stakeholders matter?

2012

Published version of an article in the journal: Journal of Management and Governance. Also available from the publisher at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10997-011-9191-4 Microfinance Institutions provide financial services to poor people. Governance of these organizations is important so that they can operate efficiently and sustainably. This study analyzes the influence of stakeholders (donors, employees, customers, and creditors), on board structure (board size and CEO duality), and on organizational performance. We use a global data set of 379 microfinance institutions from 73 countries, collected from rating organizations. Supported by stakeholder theory, agency theory and resource depend…

Corporate governance and ownership in microfinance organizations

2009

Microfinance et entreprenariat féminin dans les nouveaux pays industrialisés et les pays en développement

2020

International audience

Gender bias in microfinance

2013

Preprint of an article published by the Journal of Development Studies with the title "Focus on women in microfinance institutions" We provide empirical evidence on focusing on women in microfinance and its consequences for microfinance institutions (MFIs). Based on a global dataset, the results indicate that a focus on women is associated with group-lending methods, international orientation, smaller loans, and non-commercial legal status. We find that a focus on women significantly improves repayment but does not enhance overall financial performance because of higher relative costs. Moreover, the higher relative costs do not stem from servicing women per se but from the smaller loans offered t…