Is exchange rate risk priced in microfinance?

High microcredit interest rates have often been a source of criticism against the microfinance movement. Research has focused attention on the cost structure of interest rates and more recently on the macroeconomic and macro-institutional factors. While cost structure is probably the most important determinant of interest rates, other factors can also matter. This paper uses an innovative measure of foreign exchange risk to explore its impact on microcredit interest rates. We show that microfinance institutions that operate in countries with fixed exchange rate regimes tend to charge lower interest rates than those operating in countries with floating exchange rate regimes.     

小额信贷商业化中的目标偏移——一个理论模型及西部小额贷款公司的经验研究

在商业化改革的趋势下,一些小额信贷机构的客户群上移,出现了目标偏移。本文通过建立理论模型,论证了在两类借款人交易成本存在较大差异的情况下,小额信贷机构的信贷目标定位对目标偏移问题的影响。利用西部小额贷款公司调研数据,本文验证了小额信贷商业化中的目标偏移问题以及小额信贷机构目标定位的影响。最后,本文提出差异化补贴、制定贷款对象监控机制以及考核社会绩效等建议,以期解决我国小额贷款公司的目标偏移问题。     

THE SHORT-TERM POVERTY IMPACT OF SMALL-SCALE,COLLATERAL-FREE MICROCREDIT IN INDONESIA: A MATCHING ESTIMATOR APPROACH

Indonesian microfinance is primarily operated by for-profit commercial banks, characterized by large-scale loans that require collateral. In 2003, the largest nongovernmental organization in the country introduced much smaller-scale loans without a collateral requirement. This scheme is commercialized but potentially more suited to the credit demands of the poor. Applying propensity score matching with the difference-in-difference method, this paper examines whether the emerging microcredit scheme has been successful in targeting and improving the welfare of the poor in the one year following loan disbursement. The results show that although collateral ownership is not an important determinant of participation, relatively wealthier families gain access to microcredit. The impact of microcredit on various household outcomes is generally statistically insignificant, except for sales of nonfarm enterprises for the nonpoor and schooling expenditures for the poor. This implies that the microcredit scheme under study might not have an immediate impact on poverty alleviation.     

Understanding the microenterprise sector to design a tailor-made microfinance policy for Cape Verde

Two of the central challenges faced by Cape Verde at the present are the high level of unemployment and the increasing proportion of the population living in (relative) poverty. Microenterprise development can be an effective means of addressing both problems in a developing country like Cape Verde, where microenterprises account for about 50% of employment. In this paper we provide a detailed profile of Cape Verdean microenterprises and microentrepreneurs and investigate the relationship between their characteristics and the resort to outside seed capital. We find a cluster of factors—the microentrepreneur’s age, gender, level of education and reason for being self-employed—which influence significantly the probability of being in need for external start-up capital. The policy implications of these findings for the design of a specific microfinance program for Cape Verde are discussed.

小额信贷扶贫与财务可持续性:作用机制与协调发展研究

扶贫与财务可持续发展是小额信贷公司应该同时兼顾的两个重要问题,本文从静态和动态角度分析小额信贷公司扶贫和财务可持续发展的作用机制,研究发现在短期内小额信贷对盈利的追求会损害扶贫功能的发挥,但从长期、动态的角度看,扶贫与财务可持续发展是可以协调的,提出了我国小额信贷扶贫与财务可持续性协调发展的具体对策。     

Doing good and doing business at the bottom of the pyramid

There is an ongoing debate among scholars regarding the existence of a fortune at the bottom of the income pyramid. While some scholars argue that there is a profitable market at the pyramid base, others refute this proposition, arguing that targeting poor people as customers could lead to unethical business practices and further their exploitation. With the aid of mini cases, this article explains that there is indeed a fortune to be made at the base of the pyramid but that good fortune can be created for both corporations and poor people if the population at the bottom of the pyramid is treated as suppliers, producers, co-owners, and/or employees rather than as mere consumers. However, in terms of consumers, there is a market for firms at the base of the pyramid through which they can earn profits and simultaneously help eradicate poverty, mainly by lowering the cost structure for poor people. In other words, firms that can reduce poverty and provide cost-effective utilitarian goods and services to poor people have more to gain from such individuals than those firms that provide more luxurious goods and services or offer goods with mere aesthetic or emotional value. With the help of mini cases, this article explains four measures firms can use to create fortunes for themselves as well as for poor customers by avoiding affordability and adaptability traps.     

好金融与好社会:问题的提出和答案

好金融与好社会,是中国金融改革和金融发展所应当努力的方向和目标,也是经济和社会进步的新时代要求。本文首先通过分析我们所处的时代特点提出了好金融与好社会的命题;然后回顾了发达经济国家金融促进社会进步的途径以及希勒教授对相关命题的研究;进一步从尤努斯模式引申出中国小微金融的实践,从而提出全新认识小微金融的意义所在;最后,对好金融和好社会的理念作出探索性的解答。     

我国微型金融可持续发展的战略选择

在深人推进新农村建设和扶贫开发,全面改善农村生产生活条件,加大强农惠农富农政策力度,让广大农民平等参与现代化的进程中,微型金融在大中型农村金融机构逐步退出农村金融市场的背景下,填补了农村金融体系的空白,在解决城乡发展不平衡和农村低收人群体融资难等方面发挥了不可或缺的作用。然而,由于我国微型金融起步比较晚,国内缺乏可借鉴的成功模式,其可持续发展受制于利率市场化程度不高、微型金融法律环境不完善、产品创新不足等因素而缺乏动力。因此,我们应该借鉴国外微型金融持续健康发展的成熟经验,做出我国微型金融可持续发展的科学战略选择。     

社会资本视角下微型金融与贫困居民收入增长研究

本文利用百色市432户贫困农户的问卷调查数据对微型金融与贫困居民收入增长之间的关系进行了实证分析,结果显示：微型金融对百色市贫困居民收入存在直接影响,但影响程度较小;微型金融通过社会资本途径对提高贫困居民的收入水平作用明显.因此,应充分发挥微型金融在反贫困中的作用.