Cette thèse est composée de quatre chapitres. Le chapitre 1 analyse comment les différentes interventions publiques impactent l'octroi des microcrédits. Nous montrons que la garantie des prêts peut avoir un effet contreproductif en réduisant le nombre d'entrepreneurs bénéficiant de l'accompagnement offert par l'Institution de Microfinance (IMF). Alternativement, nous montrons que les subventions visant l'accompagnement peuvent être plus efficaces relativement à la garantie des prêts.Le chapitre 2 étudie comment les décisions d'une IMF concernant l'accompagnement peuvent impacter le comportement des emprunteurs. Nous montrons que l'asymétrie d'information renversée peut conduire à une relation non-monotone entre le type de l'emprunteur et l'offre de l'accompagnement. Cet équilibre apparaît suite à l'effet "soi-miroir". Notre modèle probit bivarié confirme l'existence d'un tel équilibre.Le chapitre 3 s'intéresse aux seuils de crédit imposés aux IMFs. Nous montrons que les seuils de crédit peuvent générer l'éloignement de la mission en facilitant le co-financement avec les banques classiques des projets les plus larges au détriment des projets les plus petits. Notre modèle probit différence-en-différences confirme l'existence de cet effet pervers à partir des données d'une IMF française.Le chapitre 4 compare les prêts octroyés aux entrepreneurs hommes et femmes par une IMF française avant et après l'introduction du seuil de crédit. Nous montrons que, sans le seuil, l'IMF choisit les femmes avec les demandes de crédit les plus élevées. Cependant, cela n'est plus le cas après l'introduction du seuil de crédits qui détériore la situation des entrepreneurs femmes. / This thesis is organized in four chapters.Chapter 1 theoretically analyses how various forms of state intervention impact microfinance institutions' (MFIs') lending behavior. We show that loan guarantees can have a counterproductive effect on financial inclusion triggered by unsubsidized business development services (BDS). Alternatively, we show that, BDS subsidization can do better in terms of financial inclusion than the loan guarantee. Chapter 2 analyses how decisions of an MFI on BDS provision can impact borrowers' behavior. We show that, reversed asymmetric information can lead to a non monotonic relationship between borrowers' type and assignment to BDS. In this equilibrium the MFI does not train the lowest and the highest type borrowers. This relationship occurs due to the "looking-glass self" effect. Our empirical bivariate probit model confirms the existence of such equilibrium. Chapter 3 tackles the issue of loan ceilings imposed to MFIs. We show that loan ceilings can trigger mission drift by facilitating the co-financing of large projects with regular banks at the expense of small projects. We test this prediction by exploiting the natural experiment of a French MFI. Difference-in-differences probit estimations show that the risk of the mission drift is real.Chapter 4 compares the loans granted to male and female entrepreneurs by a French MFI before and after the enforcement of the loan ceiling. We find that the ceiling free MFI selected women with larger requested amounts. However, under ceiling enforcement this was no longer the case, suggesting that female entrepreneurs are worse off after ceiling enforcement.

Microfinance, the provision of financial services to the poor, has been celebrated for its win-win proposition of reducing poverty while operating on a financially sustainable or even profitable basis. However, the industry has recently experienced several crises that have challenged both its financial sustainability and its social reputation. As a result, the focus of the microfinance sector on commercialization has given way to a new emphasis on client-focused products and services and on customer protection as the industry’s current priorities. Given the risks it implies both to the social impact of microfinance and to institutional sustainability, the main focus of the current client protection efforts in microfinance is on protecting borrowers against over-indebtedness. <p><p>However, customer protection efforts are struggling with a significant gap of knowledge about the prevalence, causes and consequences of over-indebtedness. There is no agreed definition or measurement of personal over-indebtedness. Especially, there is no appropriate definition for customer protection purposes and for the specific circumstances of microfinance. Existing over-indebtedness definitions mostly centre on default, thus avoiding portfolio quality problems for the lending institutions. They do not take into account that borrowers already experience severe consequences of over-indebtedness before reaching the stage of default. Findings on the empirical prevalence of over-indebtedness and on its causes and consequences may differ based on a definition that takes the borrowers’ over-indebtedness experiences and thus the customer protection perspective into account.<p><p>The first paper of this PhD develops an over-indebtedness definition that is suitable for customer protection purposes in the microfinance context. The definition is based on the sacrifices that microborrowers experience related to their loans. Working with the economics, psychology, and sociology literatures on both microfinance and consumer finance, the paper provides a conceptual analysis of the demand and supply side factors that cause over-indebtedness as well as the role of adverse economic shocks. The second paper reveals the broad spectrum of consequences that over-indebtedness can have on borrowers and on MFIs. It then reviews the empirical studies on over-indebtedness in the microfinance industry to date to shed light on the prevalence of over-indebtedness in microfinance. <p><p>In an empirical field research supported by the Independent Evaluation Department of KfW Entwicklungsbank and the Smart Campaign at ACCION’s Center for Financial Inclusion, the PhD applies the customer protection definition of over-indebtedness that results from the first paper to the microfinance market of Accra in Ghana. The third paper uses this unique database to pinpoint the prevalence of over-indebtedness in this market and analyse the debt experiences of microborrowers. In a second step, by means of a logistic regression of alternative measurements on the customer protection measurement of over-indebtedness, it provides empirical confirmation for the important differences between the risk management perspective on over-indebtedness and the customer protection point of view. <p><p>Finally, the fourth paper of the PhD tests socio-demographic and economic factors on the borrower level for their relationship to over-indebtedness. It sheds light on how the potential over-indebtedness causes that emerge from the analysis of paper 1 relate to the likelihood of a borrower being over-indebted. It also works with the primary database from Ghana and uses econometric regression methods to confirm to what extent theses potential causes of over-indebtedness relate to over-indebtedness in the given microfinance setting.<p> / Doctorat en Sciences économiques et de gestion / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

This study strives to examine how microfinance activities can be successfully applied in the developed world. This is done through a field study in New York City. Throughout interviews and observations with three of the largest actors in New York: Acción USA, Grameen America and Project Enterprise, as well as interviews with their clients, the lending processes and key characteristics of the organizations have been mapped. Furthermore, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has been interviewed on the general opinion of microfinance in the US. Previous theory elaborates on some of the major challenges with implementing microfinance activities in the developed world, such as lack of funding and cultural differences hindering the lending processes to be carried out as they are in the developing world. Henceforth, problems regarding regulation, awareness and outreach are discussed. Throughout the observation of the institutions we can confirm that some of the challenges brought up in theory actually are apparent. We do, however, question the criticism towards the use of group-based lending programs in the developed world. Our study does, in contrast to previous research, imply that the concept does work as well in the US as it does in developing countries. Since this is a case study based on the observations of only a few organizations, it is precarious to draw any general conclusions based upon the findings. Indications of key success factors are, though, group-based lending programs, non-financial services, creating awareness, financial sustainability, savings as funding, standardized regulations and increased transparency. Finally we advocate focus on job creation to obtain acknowledgement.

This study strives to examine how microfinance activities can be successfully applied in the developed world. This is done through a field study in New York City. Throughout interviews and observations with three of the largest actors in New York: Acción USA, Grameen America and Project Enterprise, as well as interviews with their clients, the lending processes and key characteristics of the organizations have been mapped. Furthermore, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has been interviewed on the general opinion of microfinance in the US. Previous theory elaborates on some of the major challenges with implementing microfinance activities in the developed world, such as lack of funding and cultural differences hindering the lending processes to be carried out as they are in the developing world. Henceforth, problems regarding regulation, awareness and outreach are discussed. Throughout the observation of the institutions we can confirm that some of the challenges brought up in theory actually are apparent. We do, however, question the criticism towards the use of group-based lending programs in the developed world. Our study does, in contrast to previous research, imply that the concept does work as well in the US as it does in developing countries. Since this is a case study based on the observations of only a few organizations, it is precarious to draw any general conclusions based upon the findings. Indications of key success factors are, though, group-based lending programs, non-financial services, creating awareness, financial sustainability, savings as funding, standardized regulations and increased transparency. Finally we advocate focus on job creation to obtain acknowledgement.

PLHOŇ, Tomáš. Analysis of microfinance in Czech nonprofit sector. Prague, 2011. 70 p. Diploma work (Mgr.) Charles University in Prague, Faculty of social sciences, Institut of sociology sciences. Department of public and social policy. Supervised by prof. PhDr. František Ochrana, DrSc. Abstract This thesis deals with the concept of microfinance and its development in the Czech nonprofit sector. In the first part the author deals with a brief description of this concept and its historical development over the last fifty years. Followed by analysis of itself, that tries to deal with the fact that despite the rapid global development of this worldwide phenomenon, microfinance in the Czech Republic is still a relatively new phenomenon. Author attempted semi structured interviews to map key players in the industry, discover their interests, attitudes, resources, and their declared objectives. The main point of the analysis is myElen.com, Czech internet portal, which is pretty much the main driver of all the happenings in the field of microfinance in this country. In conclusion the author offers an evaluation of analytical findings and suggests possible future steps to further exploration, as well as recommends the most appropriate steps in policy-making.

Microfinance relates to the provision, by specialized microfinance institutions (MFIs), of small-scale financial services - such as credit, savings, and insurance - to the poorer sections of the population. These sections have traditionally been excluded by the financial system. Microfinance is viewed as a system put into place in order to overcome market failures that are created by banks and that are omnipresent in the developing world. In development policy, microfinance has received considerable attention during the last twenty years, and the industry has grown substantially. Interestingly, the sector has been more successful in reaching out to people in some countries than in others. The sector has also developed in an unequal way within countries. The reasons why this happened are not directly apparent. This doctoral dissertation addresses the uneven development of the microfinance sector and aims at identifying factors that explain it.<p><p>The dissertation consists of three main parts. The first part, which consists of two papers, combines different datasets on the outreach of MFIs to assess in which countries MFIs have developed most. The papers indicate that the microfinance sector is more present in the richer countries of the developing world. It also reaches more clients in countries that receive more international aid. Population density also plays a stimulating role, which partially explains why the sector is still underdeveloped in rural areas.<p><p>The second part of the dissertation, which exists of one paper, explores in more depth the relationship between traditional financial sector development and microfinance institutions. The paper, co-authored with Bert D’Espallier, shows that MFIs reach more clients and are more profitable in countries where access to the traditional financial system is low. This is in line with the market-failure hypothesis. Along the same line, we find that MFIs serve poorer people in countries with well-developed financial systems. This observation is an important element to take into account in the debate on mission drift of the sector, where it is feared that MFIs drift away from serving the poor. The paper shows that MFIs in countries with well-developed banking sectors have less space to move up market and consequently to drift from the sector’s general mission.<p><p>The third and final part of the dissertation is a quantitative study on the spread and expansion process of MFIs in one Latin American country, Peru. The roles that district characteristics play in the decision to open an MFI branch are scrutinized. The paper finds that MFIs mainly increase financial access in districts with higher levels of development. Districts where banks are already present also have a higher probability that MFIs will open a branch there. This demonstrates that the two kinds of institutions co-exist in several districts, but most probably serve another clientele. Overall, although strategies differ between different types of Peruvian MFIs, the paper finds that they do not seem to be driven by a pure developmental logic that would push them towards the poorest or totally unbanked regions of the country. <p><p>On the whole, the main conclusions of the dissertation can be summarized as follows. First, the dissertation demonstrates that the outreach of the microfinance sector is influenced by a number of macro factors. Consequently, country-specific and macro-economic factors should be taken into account when evaluating MFI performance. Second, the dissertation shows that MFIs substitute the traditional banking sector. MFIs thus fulfill an important part of their mission, i.e. they have helped to increase financial access in the developing world. However, the study also suggests that MFIs still fail to serve a significant number of poor people. This leads to a third important observation, namely that MFIs may in fact not strive to serve the poor as such. Rather, it seems that they are currently focusing on the un-served market in general. The observation indicates that there is a need for a more thorough investigation on the issue of whom the unbanked in the developing countries are and whom MFIs actually strive to serve. Finally, since the outreach and performance of MFIs is dependent on the presence of a stimulating macro-environment, it remains a challenge to serve the financially excluded in the more remote areas of the developing countries and the people in the poorest ones. <p><p><p> / Doctorat en Sciences économiques et de gestion / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

This thesis is made of two parts. Part I (Chapter 1 to 3) focuses on the ethical aspects of the current challenges in microfinance. Chapter 1 addresses the question of the place and importance of credit in development policies, through the debate on the right to credit. Chapter 2 and 3 then question the fairness of the interest rates charged by the microfinance institutions. Chapter 2 analyzes whether the fairness criteria depend on more basic principles of justice, such as Rawls’ principles described in A Theory of Justice (Rawsl, 1976). Chapter 3 then reviews some of the implicit and explicit definitions of fair interest rates and proposes an original methodology, with David Gauthiers’ contractuarian theory. It determines what a fair interest rate would be when lending to the poor. <p><p>Based on the results of the two first chapters, Part II (Chapter 4 to 6) focuses on the role of donors in microfinance. Chapters 4 and 5 use two original databases, of 67 and 100 MFIs respectively to study the impact of subsidies on the MFIs’ management, through their rating evaluation (Chapter 4) and MFIs’ performance and management decisions (Chapter 5). Chapter 4 will analyze the relationship between the quality of management, as rated by a specialized agency, and the amount of subsidies. Chapter 5 will study pricing policy, the clientele and the potential moral hazard of subsidized institutions. Concluding this analysis, Chapter 6 gives some guidelines on the use of donor subsidies, especially in their interaction with the new private commercial actors, such as investment funds. <p> / Doctorat en sciences de gestion / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

This research investigates how Islam is informing capitalism in Indonesia through an analysis of the Baitul Maal wat Tamwil (BMT) model of Islamic microfinance and how it operates as a local variant of the global phenomenon of microfinance. Using an ethnographic case study of BMT Solo, in Colomadu, Surakarta, Indonesia, this thesis examines the relationship value between Indonesia’s historical religious tensions and the influence of this form and practice of Islamic microfinance in Indonesia. This is a qualitative study for which original data was collected through field work conducted from August to November 2013. Qualitative methods and narratives were employed to ensure that the voices and stories of the participants, as they see the issues from their perspective, are heard. Field observations, event analysis and data from 14 semi-structured interviews reveal that: while global conventional microfinance aims to eradicate poverty by providing the poor with access to credit, BMT Solo does not issue loans to the poor but rather works to combat poverty through the baitul maal function. As the data demonstrate, the way in which BMT Solo administers their baitul maal function results in the exclusion of the poor non-Muslim community in Colomadu reinforcing already delicate religious tensions between Muslims and non-Muslims in Indonesia. The data also elucidate the three main reasons for which founders, managers, staff and customers became involved with BMT Solo. One pattern that can be identified from the analysis, is that generally, with a few exceptions, founders and managers were motivated by reasons of faith while staff primarily by reasons of accessibility and customers by both reasons of accessibility and diplomacy. Diplomatic reasoning refers to community diplomacy and the elements of social pressure and conformity which are often associated with maintaining peaceful and harmonious relations. The reasons of diplomacy bring new insights into how the few non-Muslim BMT Solo customers are using Islamic microfinance to diplomatically co-exist in a majority Muslim community and to manage delicate religious tensions to mitigate potential difficulties. / Graduate / 0318 / mlholden@uvic.ca

Thesis (MDF)--University of Stellenbosch, 2011. / In the microfinance discourse, sustainability can relate to organisational, managerial and financial aspects. However, what is in vogue in mainstream analysis is the financial sustainability of MFIs throughout the world, especially in Africa, Asia and Latin America. What has attracted controversial debate on the self financial viability of MFIs is the extent they have maintained the balance between achieving substantial levels of profitability (through employing the institutionalist approach), and being agents of poverty-alleviation (through the welfarist approach). Analysing the mixed fortunes of the five MFIs in Mozambique between 2005 and 2009, this study explores the scope and patterns of outreach programmes as an essay in service-delivery by the MFIs, the repayment capacity of the different stripes of clients, the cost-control regime adopted by the MFIs and the ultimate variegated levels of success realised, and the challenges faced by the MFIs in different provinces.

Cette thèse analyse à travers une étude de cas, le parcours d’un programme de micro-crédit rural mis en place par l’ONG Plan International, transformé en institution formelle et intégré aujourd’hui dans l’un des plus grands réseaux mutualistes du Sénégal : l’UM-PAMECAS (Union des Mutuelles du Partenariat pour la Mobilisation de l'Epargne et du Crédit au Sénégal). Notre objectif était de montrer comment les organisations de microfinance concilient les logiques sociale et financière, à priori en opposition, dans leur mode d’action après une transformation institutionnelle. Compte tenu de la diversité des règles et des modes d’actions observés au sein des organisations étudiées, nous avons mobilisé l’économie des conventions pour construire notre cadre d’analyse. La thèse s’appuie sur une analyse qualitative diachronique des logiques en présence, de façon à comprendre ce qui les soustend, les mécanismes et enjeux de pouvoir qui les font évoluer et se stabiliser. Sur une période s’étalant de 2006 à 2008 nous avons mené des enquêtes auprès de 169 personnes aux statuts divers (salariés, élus, bénéficiaire des crédits, etc.). Ce travail a apporté un éclairage sur le processus de transformation institutionnelle des organisations de microfinance rural et ses enjeux. Nous avons montré que grâce à une méthodologie combinant plusieurs principes relevant de cités différentes mais essentiellement rattachés à une « logique sociale », les organisations de microfinance de premières générations ont permis à des personnes vivant en milieu rural, dont le profil socio-économique n’intéressait pas les banques commerciales, d’accéder aux services financiers. La transformation institutionnelle induite par des facteurs exogènes et endogènes a apporté des bouleversements auxquelles les organisations devaient faire face pour assurer leur pérennité. Notre recherche a montré que pour réussir cette transition et éviter des conflits, des concertations doivent être menées tout au long du processus avec l’ensemble des acteurs afin que tous s’entendent sur le but de la transformation, la façon dont le processus doit être mené et les réformes à mettre en place. En outre, les nouvelles procédures mises en place doivent être en adéquation avec les spécificités locales. Par ailleurs, cette thèse a montré la forte prédominance des tontines. Ces dernières ont fortement évolué et se sont enrichies grâce à l’hybridation de règles marchandes, domestiques et civiques qui en font aujourd’hui, des dispositifs locaux concurrençant fortement la collecte de l’épargne au niveau des structures formelles / This thesis analyses, trough a case study, the operation of a rural micro-credit program implemented by Plan international NGO. It has then been changed into a formal institution and integrated into one of the largest network of mutual organizations in Senegal: UMPAMECAS. Our objective was to show how micro-finance organizations reconcile social and financial logics that are primarily contradictory, in their action after institutional changes. Considering the diversity of rules and operation modes observed in the institutions under scrutiny, we have mobilized the convention economy to build the framework of our analysis. The thesis is based on a diachronic quantitative analysis of those logics to understand what underlies them, power mechanism and stakes that make them evolve and stabilize. For a period from 2006 through 2008, we surveyed 169 people from different (wages-earners, elected, credits beneficiaries, etc.). This work has cast light on the transformation process of rural microfinance and its stakes. We have shown that, thanks to a methodology combining several principles from different cities, but essentially related to a “social logic”, the first generation of microfinance institutions have enabled several people living in rural areas, whose economic profile did not appeal to commercial banks, to get access to financial services. The institutional transformations induced by endogenous and exogenous facts have brought changes which should be dealt with by the institutions to ensure their sustainability. Our research has shown that to survive the transition and avoid conflicts, consultations should be conducted all through the process with all the stakeholders for all to agree on the objective of the transition, the way the process should be conducted and the reforms that need to be implemented. Besides, the newly implemented procedures should match local specificities. Furthermore, this thesis has shown the supremacy of the “tontine” systems (rotating saving and credit associations). Those systems have deeply evolved and enriched due to the hybridization of commercial, domestic and civic rules that make them today local organizations that strongly challenge formal structures in the collecting of savings