The Role of Microfinance in Contemporary Rural Development Finance Policy and Practice: Imposing Neoliberalism as ‘Best Practice’

Microcredit emerged in the 1970s as a mechanism whereby virtually all poor individuals could supposedly escape their poverty through self‐help and individual entrepreneurship. Crucially, neoliberal policy‐makers found the microcredit concept ideologically compelling, and the international development community soon began to provide massive support to establish and expand the microfinance movement. Today, however, even long‐standing microfinance advocates now reluctantly accept that microcredit has actually had no positive impact upon poverty or ‘bottom‐up’ rural development. In fact, those rural communities most exposed to microcredit have been severely damaged in a number of ways, especially through sub‐prime‐style ‘boom‐to‐bust’ episodes. Largely because of its supreme ideological usefulness, the microfinance movement nonetheless still retains some support in the major neoliberal‐oriented international development institutions, pro‐globalization think‐tanks, and in a number of Western governments.     

‘Freedom from Poverty is Not for Free’: Rural Development and the Microfinance Crisis in Andhra Pradesh,India

Within neoliberal development discourse, the poor are represented as entrepreneurial subjects for whom integration into formalized financial systems can facilitate their escape from poverty. This paper examines how the 2010 microfinance crisis in Andhra Pradesh reveals significant fault lines that underlie this narrative. It argues that the crisis of microfinance in Andhra Pradesh needs to be placed within the context of severe agrarian dislocations stemming from the impact of trade liberalization, drought cycles and a transformation of rural social relations. The contradictions are most strikingly represented in increasing rural differentiation and a generalized crisis of social reproduction among land‐poor farmers and landless labourers. A massive influx of microfinance – driven by both state‐operated programmes and private‐sector institutions leveraged with cross‐border financial flows – found a ready clientele among various agrarian classes seeking to bolster consumption and roll over debt in conditions of significant uncertainty and distress. Yet in banking on this vulnerability, microfinance institutions socialized the contradictions of rural Andhra Pradesh and have ultimately been thrown into limbo through the unleashing of political and social forces unforeseen in neoliberal narratives of agrarian change.     

微型金融的普惠效应实证研究--基于6省4220户农户调查数据

本文利用全国6个省份60县4220户农户的调查数据,运用Probit模型实证检验微型金融机构的普惠效应,即小额信贷是否为中低收入和贫困农户提供信贷支持以及能否利用自身特殊的贷款机制拓展农村金融的覆盖面。实证结果发现,微型金融机构能够将信贷服务向正规金融机构无法覆盖的中等收入群体延伸,其普惠效应主要源自其依托现金流为核心的信贷技术,能够克服传统金融机构大多依赖抵押品的不足。但是,小额信贷的金融普惠程度有一定的局限,无法覆盖那些收入不稳定的贫困程度较深的农户,该结果在采用多层阈值定义贫困农户后依然稳健。     

Microfinance: Development Intervention or Just Another Bank?

This paper is based on a systematic review of evidence of the impact of microfinance on the lives of poor women, men and children in sub‐Saharan Africa. It focuses specifically on longer‐term non‐financial outcomes related to health and nutrition and education. The paper contrasts microfinance's early days' initially refreshing and encouraging promises of a development initiative that empowers people to help themselves while ‘paying for itself’ with a more gloomy picture that derives from the synthesis results of our systematic review. It presents two simple models that show the pathways from microfinance to increased investment in improved health and education, contrasting theory with our synthesis results. Our discussion highlights that thinking through microfinance makes it necessary to thoroughly investigate both the theory behind interventions and the evidence for their impact. It raises the essential question: Is microfinance about providing banking services to the unbanked, or is microfinance a development intervention that concerns itself with the attainment of long‐term sustainable responses to high levels of poverty?     

论农业产业结构调整的政策性金融服务体系

文章基于农业产业结构调整的角度对我国农村金融支持展开研究,通过回顾历史、分析现状总结我国农业产业结构历经5次结构性调整。我国农业产业历次结构性调整虽然取得较大改进及发展,但仍存在不少问题,其中农村金融服务体系存在的问题有:(1)正规金融机构不足、服务效率低下;(2)金融知识渗透性差;(3)抵押物问题;(4)非正规金融风险较大。发现农村政策性金融对产业结构调整的作用主要体现在:(1)农业产业的扶植和政策引导功能;(2)农村和农业的开发功能;(3)农村金融市场和信用体系的完善功能。提出建立健全我国农村政策性金融服务体系的主要措施有:(1)增强教育投入、增加信贷宣传;(2)加大中小额信贷支持力度,提高融资水平;(3)应用"互联网+"金融方式,推进金融服务体系多样化;(4)加大土地政策改革,解决农民抵押物难问题。     

郁南县“信用工程”背景下小额信贷的扶贫绩效研究

小额信贷作为一种创新的金融服务工具,研究其绩效对我国金融改革和创新具有重要的作用。文章研究郁南县实施“信用工程”背景下小额信贷的扶贫绩效。通过问卷调查统计分析,我们发现小额信贷在一定程度上可以缓解农户贷款难问题,改善农户的生活水平,但效果不是很明显,“信用工程”还需要进一步推进。通过定量分析,我们得出结论是：总体上,小额贷款你能促进农民增收,但效果不是很显著;对于不同收入阶层,小额信贷的扶贫绩效对中低收入水平的农户不明显,但对高收入阶层的农户很显著。     

探讨河北省农村产业结构调整中的金融体制优化策略

金融体制是保证产业结构调整、促进产业结构转换的直接推动力,但现有的金融支持力度尚不能满足农业产业结构调整的需要,已经成为制约我国农业经济转型的关键因素。鉴于此,文章以河北省为例,从河北省农村产业结构和金融体制优化的现状调查入手,发现金融体制优化对河北省农村产业结构调整产生重大影响,主要表现在金融供给总量不足、金融中介种类单一、资金支持周期较短及政策支持力度不够等方面。为优化河北省农村金融体制,提出提高金融供给总量、开展多样化金融服务、完善长期贷款制度和加强政策支持力度等4个方面等建议,以期为河北省农村产业结构优化升级、增强产业竞争优势提供科学依据。     

农村产权抵押融资的风险防控机制研究——基于重庆的实践

论文首先理清了农村产权抵押融资各环节上的主要风险。接着,通过对重庆市11个区县的实地调研,找出了各种风险的主要成因,以及防控这些风险的成功经验。最后,针对农村产权融资的不同需求,建立了以农村资金互助社为核心的小额融资风险防控机制,和以政府为基础层,金融机构和农户为核心层,担保机构、保险机构和评估机构为保障层的大额融资风险防控机制。为我国农村产权抵押融资风险防控提供参考。     

农村金融支持社会主义新农村建设的对策思考

党的十六届五中全会对建设社会主义新农村这一伟大事业做出了战略部署，在建设社会主义新农村中。迫切需要加大对新农村建设的资金投入和改善农村金融服务。从农村金融的供给现状及存在的问题入手，提出深化农村信用社改革等完善农村金融体系，强化金融服务的对策建议。     

基于零膨胀模型的农户借贷行为影响因素分析——以山东省8119家农户数据为例

采用大样本数据可使得对我国农户借贷行为的分析更加稳健。截至目前,对山东省223个行政村8119户的抽样调查数据规模在相关研究中最大,为适应相关数据结构特征,利用零膨胀负二项模型进行数据分析,发现注重自身积累的传统投资观念、具有较高学历水平两个因素会对农户借贷行为产生显著性影响,而正规金融体系却未对其产生显著性影响。在此基础上,进一步提出了发展农村金融业的政策建议。     

基于空间面板杜宾模型的农村金融发展与农村经济增长关系研究

长期以来,农村金融发展与农村经济增长之间的关系受到国内外众多学者的关注。文章基于柯布-道格拉斯生产函数,考虑到空间溢出效应,将资本因素划分为农村金融发展的规模、效率和结构3个纬度,结合劳动力投入量,通过构建前沿的计量经济学空间面板Durbin模型,对我国30个省市2000~2009年农村金融发展与农村经济增长的关系进行了分析。结果表明,在样本期间,我国农村经济增长存在显著的空间集聚现象;农村金融规模、效率、结构与农村经济增长之间存在显著的相关关系,其中,农村金融规模和农村金融结构对农村经济存在反向作用,而农村金融效率对农村经济具有显著而正向的直接影响且存在正向空间溢出效应,成为影响农村经济增长的关键因素。农村金融发展与农村经济增长之间的良好互动机制尚未建立。因此,各省市在加大农村金融投资规模的同时,要努力提高农村金融资源配置效率。     

私人借贷与农村经济和农民生活关系研究-以土改后中南区为例

私人借贷在全国解放前一直是农村金融体系的重要组成部分。解放以后,从20世纪50年代初期中南区各省的调查材料来看,由于经济落后、家庭经济弱小、缺乏完善的社会保障和现代金融体系等原因,私人借贷虽受到抑制但仍有一定程度的发展。这一时期的私人借贷在功能上以互助互济为主,在一定程度解决了农户生产生活上的诸多困难,促进了农村经济的发展。国家银行业务在农村的延伸和农村信用社的发展在一定程度上压缩了私人借贷的空间,但不能完全替代私人借贷。     

农业资本形成的障碍及对策分析

以江苏省为例，对农业资本形成的障碍进行了定性和定量分析。研究结果表明，农户在农业投资中已占主导地位，但近年来投资增长乏力，不能满足农业产业结构调整的需要。从农户融资方式看，外源性融资不顺是制约投资的主要因素，原因主要是农村金融体系不完善。因此要加快农业资本形成，目前最主要的任务是建立以真正的农村合作金融机构为主导的农村金融体系。     

高校新农村研究院：科技支撑乡村振兴的有效载体

[目的]较之前开展的新农村建设,乡村振兴战略是一种更高层次的发展手段和目标。文章旨在对高校新农村研究院推动乡村振兴的实践经验和困难问题进行梳理,分析背后的成因与制约因素,以期为以高校新农村研究院为抓手、从科技引领和支撑的角度推动乡村振兴战略的落地实施提供有针对性的建议。[方法]该文从协同创新理论出发,基于对沈阳农业大学新农村发展研究院的实地调研,采用文献梳理、归纳总结和定性分析等方法对高校新农村研究院为乡村振兴战略提供科技支撑的机理、模式、作用和困难问题进行了梳理。[结果]高校新农村发展研究院通过整合政府、高校、企业等多方资源,从技术协同、人才协同与理念协同3方面为乡村振兴提供了有效支撑。但目前各级政府对高校新农村研究院的作用地位还缺乏充分认识,存在财政支持不到位、技术推广激励与考评机制不完善等问题。[结论]整合各方科技创新资源,构建起各类主体跨界协同、不同技术集成应用、创新资源全链配置、关联产业融合发展的新型农业科技协同创新体系;进一步强化高校新农村发展研究院在农业科技服务中的主体地位,增强财政对新农村发展研究院的持续投入,改革高校农技推广人员职称评定与考核激励机制。     

The Political Economy of Contract Farming in China's Agrarian Transition

How does rural China's political economy determine the motivations and constraints that drive small farmers and agribusiness companies into contract farming and shape its practice and impact? This paper identifies three distinctive features of contract farming in China – varied impact on rural inequality, unstable contractual relations and lack of competitiveness with other alternatives – and proposes tentative explanations linked to three features in rural China's political economy: strong collective institutions, active state support for agriculture and strong domestic markets. The recent turn in China's agrarian transition towards vertical integration of agriculture with industries is, however, undermining these conditions and may move China towards more convergence with other countries. Studying contract farming in China's unique political economy context shows not only how variations in the political economy can alter its practice and impact, but also how it needs to be evaluated in comparison with competing alternatives.     

Coping with flood: role of institutions in Bangladesh

The article examines the coping strategies that rural households adopted during the 1998 flood in Bangladesh and assesses its impact on household welfare, including coping and vulnerability. Both vulnerability and poverty have in general declined in Bangladesh. Yet, 60% of rural households adopted a coping of one type or another and about half of rural households were both vulnerable as well as found to adopt any coping mechanism during the 1998 flood. Household‐level panel data analysis confirms that the flood reduced both consumption and asset, and forced many households to adopt some coping mechanisms to mitigate the adverse effects of flood. Consequently, natural disaster such as flooding increases households' vulnerability to poverty. However, post‐flood bumper crop production and operation of targeted programs such as microfinance helped compensate the losses of flood.     

A meta-analysis examining the nature of trade-offs in microfinance

This meta-analysis reviews existing evidence on the ability of microfinance institutions (MFI) to achieve social and financial goals simultaneously. Through an initial screen of 3088 articles covering empirical tests on microfinance performance trade-offs, I synthesize 623 empirical findings from 61 studies to identify the dimensions of MFI performance, and study characteristics associated with trade-offs between financial and social objectives Overall, findings suggest that depth of outreach, cost of outreach, and efficiency indicators increase the prevalence of trade-offs, while risk indicators are associated with fewer trade-offs. Profitability indicators and outreach to women are found to have no significant effect on performance trade-offs. Additionally, study characteristics suggest that using an economic frontier methodology or publishing in development journals increases the incidence of trade-offs, while time trends reveal that trade-offs become less acute as the industry matures. Consequently, MFIs face difficult decisions in relation to the possibility that social goals need be sacrificed to achieve financial sustainability.     

What We Stand For

What we stand for While the primary function of agriculture is to feed humankind, public opinion now expects it also to contribute to the development of poor countries, to provide safe, high‐quality foodstuffs and to inject greater energy into rural areas. Farming's special features mean that agricultural trade cannot be governed by market forces alone. It was in this spirit, and in order to promote the agricultural development of Africa, that the French President, Jacques Chirac, recently proposed a moratorium on export refunds, the stabilisation of commodity prices and the granting of preferential arrangements favouring the poorest nations. Likewise, our policy on food must guarantee health and safety, promote quality enhancement programmes and encourage diversity in what we eat. Lastly, farming must continue to be the ‘beating heart’ of our countryside. At a time when the Luxembourg agreement has quite rightly strengthened rural development policies, I myself wished to propose to French farmers a new contract based on trust and aimed at sustainable agriculture. Ce que nous croyons Si la fonction première de l'agriculture est de nourrir les hommes, l'opinion publique attend désormais qu'elle participe également au développement des pays pauvres, fournisse une alimentation süre et de qualityé et renforce le dynamisme des territoires ruraux. Les particularités de l'agriculture imposent que les échanges agricoles ne soient pas régis par la seule loi du marché. C'est dans cet esprit et pour favoriser le développement agricole de l'Afrique que le Président français Jacques CHIRAC a récemment proposé un moratoire sur les restitutions, une initiative pour la stabilisation du prix des matières premières et l'octroi de préférence spécifiques en faveur des pays les plus pauvres. De même, notre politique de 1'alimentation doit‐elle à la fois garantir la sécurité sanitaire, promouvoir les démarches de qualité et favoriser la diversité de notre alimentation. Enfin, l'agriculture doit demeurer le ‘cceur battant’ de nos campagnes. Alors que l'accord de Luxembourg a fort justement renforcé les politiques de développement rural, j'ai souhaité, pour ma part, proposer aux agriculteurs de France un nouveau contrat de confiance pour une agriculture durable. Wofür wir eintreten Auch wenn es die erste Aufgabe der Landwirtschaft ist, die Menschheit zu ernähren, so erwartet die öffendiche Meinung heute, dass die Landwirtschaft auch einen Beitrag zur Entwicklung der armen Länder leistet, sichere und qualitativ hochwertige Nahrungsmittel liefert und die Entwicklung ländlicher Regionen fördert. Die Besonderheiten der Landwirtschaft machen es notwendig, dass sich der Handel mit landwirtschaftlichen Erzeugnissen nicht ausschließlich nach den Gesetzen des Marktes richtet. In diesem Sinn, und urn die landwirtschaftliche Entwicklung Afrikas zu fördern, hat der französische Staatspräsident Jacques CHIRAC kürzlich ein Moratorium für die Exportrückerstattungen, die Stabilisierung der Rohstoffpreise und die Gewährung spezifischer Präferenzen zugunsten der ärmsten Länder gefordert. Unsere Ernährungspolitik muss auch die Nahrungsmittelsicherheit gewährleisten, Qualitätsbestrebungen fördern und die Vielfalt unserer Ernährung begünstigen. Letztendlich muss die Landwirtschaft der “Pulsschlag” unserer ländlichen Gebiete bleiben. Während die Vereinbarung von Luxemburg zu Recht die Politiken der ländlichen Entwicklung verstärkt hat, wollte ich meinerseits den Landwirten Frankreichs einen neuen Vertrag anbieten, der auf Vertrauen basiert und auf eine nachhaltige Entwicklung der Landwirtschaft abzielt.     

从城乡两个战略统筹推进看农村改革路向

[目的]"城市病"与"乡村病"既是城市与乡村各自发展过程出现问题的表现,又是城乡发展长期不平衡累积的结果。从乡村振兴与新型城镇化两个战略统筹推进的视角出发,探究农村改革的重点路向。[方法]文章通过构建乡村振兴与新型城镇化评价指标体系,运用熵值法加权计算二者各自的综合指数,并运用耦合协调模型评价了现阶段我国城乡耦合协调度。[结果]从理论分析看,我国城乡融合发展具有理论上"耦合"的可行性。实证研究表明:我国乡村振兴与新型城镇化处于"区域分异"状态、发展任务艰巨且要求分区域精准施策;目前我国城乡耦合发展整体处于较低层级,70%的地区处于"轻度失调"状态,亟待通过外力干预逆转。[结论]"治好城乡两种病"不但要靠城乡自身的"内生性"发展,又需要"外源性"动力推进。从改革路向看,要结合农村实际实施差异化改革路径。并紧扣农村发展的限制性因素,针对性地破解发展难题。存在生态及自然资源优势的后发地区,应改革产业培育方向,对于经济较发达地区,改革重点应放在调整城乡分工与利益分配上;要改革土地等自然资源使用权流转制度,为城市资本下乡打开通道,使城乡融合由"离散型"转向"连续型";坚决破除"小农经济"思维模式禁锢,改革我国农业运作模式,把提升农业生产效率作为着力点。     

文登市乡村景观评价

乡村景观评价是乡村旅游开发和乡村景观规划设计的基础和前提,景观评价既关系到旅游资源的开发前景又影响乡村景观规划与乡村景观的可持续发展。该文以文登市为例,采用模糊网络分析模型(FANP模型)、径向基函数网络模型(RBF模型)和GIS、RS空间分析技术,选择社会效应、生态质量和美感效果3大类及相应的指标,建立了文登市乡村景观的评价指标体系,从定量的角度分析了文登市乡村景观格局变化情况及其乡村景观的等级。结果表明:2006~2009年,文登市乡村景观格局的单元特征指数和整体特征指数都发生了明显的变化;两种模型评价得到的文登市乡村景观的值分别为3.35、3.28,对应的等级均为优秀,但是其乡村景观在美感效果方面的提升空间较大。因此,文登市在乡村旅游开发过程中,要注重乡村景观再造,进一步提升乡村景观的美感效果,实现乡村旅游发展与景观等级提升的双赢。