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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

La finance solidaire constitue un champ fécond d'analyse de la régulation de la finance par l'éthique. Toutefois, dans un environnement financiarisé, la finance solidaire court le risque de perdre son identité solidaire par un processus d'isomorphisme institutionnel. Une telle dérive est perceptible dans le cas de la microfinance dans les pays du Sud. On y repère trois modalités de microfinance selon un ordre croissant d'immersion dans la finance classique via un formatage de l'offre et de l'identité solidaire : la microfinance pré-bancaire (cas d'isomorphisme coercitif), la microfinance bancaire (cas d'isomorphisme normatif) et la microfinance comme actif financier (cas d'isomorphisme mimétique). Les différentes modalités de la microfinance sont modélisées à travers une formalisation mathématique. Cependant, cette difficulté d'articulation de la finance et de l'éthique relève moins de l'influence de l'environnement financiarisé que d'un déficit d'appropriation collective de la finance. Une telle appropriation collective, caractérisée par une initiative à partir des acteurs sociaux, une forte résilience face à l'incertitude, un fort ancrage territorial et un rôle facilitateur de l'État, se voit davantage dans la finance solidaire dans les pays du Nord.

Introduction: Poverty is today a global problem which is getting more and more attention. Organisations as UNDP, OECD and World Bank have a common target of cutting poverty in half by year 2015. But if this target is going to be feasible it is important to understand poverty. Nobel Prize winner Amartya Sen argues that standard of living should be expressed in quality of life not in terms of quantity of goods and other economic factors. Sen has developed theories concerning poverty that is commonly used in today debate. One way to diminish poverty is microfinance. Microfinance is small loans given to poor people as a way for them to start or develop a business of some kind. Microfinance programs often combine the loans with education and social activities. Aim: Investigate if microfinance can contribute to permanent poverty alleviation, develop a model and apply it in rural Vietnam. The following questions will help to achieve our aim: - How do microfinance effect poor women in rural Vietnam? - What happens if one applies Amartya Sen's theories of poverty in rural Vietnam? Results: Microfinance is a good tool in the struggle to diminishing poverty. We found many examples where microfinance had improved the women’s life in different areas. But to make the microfinance even more effective it is important it is effective education and right members participating. Under ideal circumstances the process of microfinance work as in the NORAN-model, however in reality it is not so easy. But if you are aware of the problems and try to avoid them, microfinance can help many women. Thus our conclusion is that microfinance certainly can and already do contribute to permanent poverty alleviation.

Offering financial services to the unprivileged is a complex task and past attempts have been rather unsuccessful. One commendable effort that has sprung from the failures of commercial banks is microfinance and thanks to innovative ideas microfinance institutions have managed to cope with many of the challenges previously experienced by the formal bank sector in the 1970’s through the 90’s. The “new” approach has successfully managed to overcome obstacles such as lack of collateral and information asymmetry. By using joint-liability schemes and by requiring frequent installments microfinance institutions have managed to reduce their risk exposure and by outsourcing the screening process to the borrowers they have dealt with the lack of information on their clients. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate what microfinance institutions do that make them more suitable for delivering financial services to the poor. We will look at the supply driven efforts carried out in the past and see how they differ from the demand driven approach taken today. We will evaluate some of the most common mechanisms of microfinance and assess their potential contribution to achieving the high repayment rates that many of these institutions obtain today. The main finding is that group lending subject to social sanctions should improve the repayment rate. Other mechanisms that may enhance the performance are the use of dynamic incentives and regular repayment schedules. The effect of targeting women and social programs on repayment rates are ambiguous although their empowerment effect is notable. By joining forces with NGOs, local authorities and the commercial financial sector microfinance has emerged as a viable poverty reduction tool alongside traditional aid.

The microfinance revolution of the 1980s acclaimed micro-credit as a tool that would improve the lives of economically active people trapped in poverty. The 2006 Nobel prize awarded to Mohammed Yunus and Grameen Bank confirmed for the industry’s advocates that microfinance was a panacea, and billions of dollars have been channeled to financial services for the poor. However, a series of high-profile scandals in 2010 shook development agencies’ faith in micro lending, and support has waned in light of evidence that microfinance alone cannot change structural inequalities and end poverty. I show that politics operate throughout the industry, reproducing inequalities within the process of micro lending. In my political ethnographic study of 460 people in three countries, I find that race and class politics is entrenched in all three countries, yet there are different outcomes related to attitudes of microfinance managers. In Jamaica and Guyana, micro lenders demonstrate that historically rooted racial and class biases go beyond gender to determine the allocation of micro loan resources. Ingrained biases interfere with the allocation of loans to the urban poor because discriminatory practices reinforce pre-existing social divisions. The Haiti case is hopeful: lenders, particularly the caisses populaires (credit unions), are made up of socially conscious people who recognize the country’s exclusionary politics. Managers and staff have class origins similar to the clients they serve and view micro loans as a tool to contest class and race-based oppressions. Haiti’s case suggests that collective systems such as those found in the caisses populaires and informal banks are effective because they relate to people’s history; and managers influenced by the masses, organize financial programs that are responsive to their clients and remain free from elite capture. This bottom-up approach in microfinance determines a greater level of social transformation for the urban poor.

Microfinance has become one of the most promising tools for development and poverty alleviation over the past two decades. Millions of borrowers around the globe have utilized microcredit to start or expand their small businesses and raise their household income. One poverty-induced problem microfinance could potentially alleviate is child labor. Despite international legislation prohibiting it, child labor continues to deprive millions of children of their right to education. Without education, there is little hope for a country to increase productivity and wealth in the future. A number of scholars have highlighted a negative correlation between credit rationing and child labor. However, there are no studies that examine whether or not children are less likely to work in households that participate in microfinance programs. In some circumstances, microcredit may increase household income and induce parents to withdraw their children from work while in others, raising the household income level may lead children to work more. In low-income countries with numerous microfinance institutions, many children work despite their parents’ access to credit. In order to examine this paradoxical phenomenon, this thesis presents a number of econometric models which analyze both child labor and credit at the household level. Though these models are vital in explaining the relevant trends, a purely economic analysis fails to capture the political and cultural factors that also engender child labor. To illustrate this complex relationship between economics and mores, this thesis highlights the impact of microfinance on child labor in Bangladesh. Bangladesh is an ideal country for this study because microfinance and child labor are both endemic. Finally, conclusions drawn from this analysis inform policy recommendations to amplify the effectiveness of microfinance on diminishing child labor.

Even with such a diverse set of actors, this paper will argue that it is irrational not to have a functioning mobile banking ecosystem that can provide a full range of financial services to the poor. As seen by current public and private actors that lead the charge in creating mobile banking ecosystems, all actors can substantially benefit. With three billion unbanked poor, both traditional banks and microfinance banks will have significant opportunities to massively increase clientele in previously un-bankable and remote areas in a profitable way. Telecoms will be able to provide a wider array of services to attract and retain customers as traditional markets become more saturated and competitive as well as receive positive PR for providing services to the poor. On the public side, governments should see this as an opportunity to provide financial access to their citizens without having to provide the services themselves. Finally, previously unbanked clients stand to gain the most as they will receive access to convenient, reliable and flexible services that fit their needs in ways that were impossible before mobile banking technology. This paper, however, will not prescribe a single model for mobile banking. Differences in political systems, economy, geography, demographics, state of development, nature of financial systems, profile of clients, and regulatory environment make it impossible to create a "one size fits all" solution. The correct model for a functioning mobile banking ecosystem depends on the specific market environment of each individual country. Lessons can be learned from top emerging players in developing countries for a better overall understanding of the interests of the actors and how to create a framework that allows for these interests to co-exist. This understanding is critical if mobile banking is to eventually have an important global impact on financial inclusion for the poor.

Le microcrédit est aujourd'hui un terme qui revient souvent quand on entend parler de développement. Les bailleurs de fond se dirigent de plus en plus vers cette « nouvelle » forme de financement du développement qui semble prometteuse à bien des égards. Cet outil peut, selon certains, avoir des effets positifs à plusieurs niveaux: économique, social et politique. Ce mémoire tente d'explorer ces aspects en portant une attention particulière à l'empowerment des femmes au Bangladesh. Il est question d'étudier la Grameen Bank, première banque spécialisée pour les pauvres qui émet des microcrédits à des femmes (97%) pour que celles-ci l'investissent dans une activité rémunératrice et qu'elles se hissent au-dessus du seuil de la pauvreté. Cette recherche dresse un portrait socio-économique et culturel du Bangladesh; présente l'institution étudiée, la Grameen Bank; et aborde les enjeux reliés à l'empowerment des femmes et à l'élimination de la pauvreté à travers des entrevues effectuées durant le printemps 2007, dans trois régions du pays: Rajshahi, Chittagong et Netrokona. Ce mémoire s'appuie aussi sur diverses études et recherches traitant de la question. L'hypothèse de départ est que grâce à ces prêts, les femmes acquièrent un pouvoir économique qui leur permet de sortir leur famille de la pauvreté et les mène sur le chemin de l'empowerment. Les principaux résultats obtenus suite aux entretiens semblent indiquer que les femmes ont encore un chemin à parcourir avant d'atteindre ce qui pourrait ressembler à l'égalité entre les hommes et les femmes. Toutefois, des transformations ont déjà pris formes et ces dernières ont vu leur position au sein du foyer s'élever. Elles ont gagné beaucoup en respect et en confiance, sans compter que plusieurs ont vu leur liberté de mouvement grandir et souhaitent une meilleure éducation pour leurs enfants. Par conséquent, cette étude semble montrer que lorsque les prêts sont bien investis, les femmes réussissent à augmenter leur niveau de vie et les changements au niveau social apparaissent peu à peu.

La réalisation simultanée des objectifs financiers et sociaux assignés aux institutions de microfinance représente un véritable défi. Afficher de bonnes performances financières (bonne rentabilité) et avoir un degré de portée sociale élevé (servir les plus pauvres) peuvent faire l'objet de contradictions. Dès lors ces « banques des pauvres » sont confrontées à un arbitrage qui peut engendrer une dérive de mission, leur raison d'être. Pour vérifier l'existence de ce fait nous avons procédé à une analyse de la relation entre performances financières et degré de portée sociale à partir d'un échantillon de 48 institutions de la zone économique UEMOA, de 2002 à 2004. Nos résultats ont montré que cette relation est neutre mais nous avons pu confirmer la présence d'un arbitrage qui découle de la volonté des institutions de réduire leur portefeuille à risque. Néanmoins nous n'avons pas pu détecter qu'un portefeuille à risque plus élevé va de pair avec une clientèle plus pauvre par conséquent une dérive de mission n'est pas justifiée. On peut donc conclure que les institutions de microfinance peuvent bel et bien réaliser leur double objectif de résultat et remplir ainsi leur « promesse ultime ». ______________________________________________________________________________ MOTS-CLÉS DE L’AUTEUR : Microfinance, Arbitrage, Performances financières, Degré de portée sociale, Dérive de mission.

Les nombreuses études réalisées en microfinance mettent surtout l'accent sur ses impacts; peu d'entre elles se sont attardées sur les formes d'organisation adoptées par les institutions financières en microfinance (IMF). Or, il existe actuellement dans le secteur diverses formes allant de la société projet en passant par les associations et les coopératives jusqu'aux sociétés par actions. Cette recherche se concentre sur les organisations coopératives en microfinance. Son but est de contribuer à la littérature sur les rôles et l'efficacité des coopératives financières (CFs) en microfinance. De ce fait, elle aborde d'une part la microfinance sous l'angle de l'économie du développement, à cause de sa capacité de lutte contre la pauvreté et l'exclusion bancaire des particuliers, et de son soutien à des programmes de développement communautaire et, d'autre part sous l'angle de la théorie économique des organisations à travers l'asymétrie d'information, la relation d'agence et les coûts de transaction qu'implique l'activité de microfinance au sein des IMF. Pour y arriver, nous avons eu recours à l'analyse des réponses à des questionnaires distribués aux coopératives membres du réseau Proxfin de Développement International Desjardins (DID). À travers cette étude, nous avons constaté que les CFs en microfinance en tant que forme d'organisation contribuent au développement de l'individu et de sa communauté. En effet, elles appartiennent et sont gérées par leurs membres. Elles les responsabilisent et contribuent à leur autonomie. Elles leur offrent à la fois l'accès au capital, tant dans le milieu rural qu'urbain, à la micro-assurance, et aussi à l'éducation financière. Cela permet à ces derniers d'atténuer leur vulnérabilité face aux aléas de la vie et de briser le cycle de la pauvreté. Les CFs de notre échantillon combinent cette offre de service avec une taille moyenne des prêts supérieure au revenu national brut/habitant de leur pays d'origine, et un taux de recouvrement élevé, ce qui contribue à leur performance et à leur autonomie financière. D'après les réponses de la section Prêts du questionnaire, nous remarquons que la taille moyenne des prêts de nos coopératives résulte d'un choix stratégique qu'elles ont fait. En effet, le soutien et le conseil à l'entreprenariat constitue le principal objectif de leurs activités de prêts. Toujours d'après les réponses du questionnaire, nous avons classé les CFs de notre échantillon dans l'approche institutionnaliste de la microfinance identifiée par Morduch (2000). Cette approche regroupe les IMF qui concilient les objectifs sociaux, humanitaires avec les objectifs de performance et d'autonomie financière. Nous avons constaté également à travers cette étude que les taux d'intérêt appliqués par les coopératives de notre échantillon dépendent largement des frais généraux. Ceci justifie la nécessité de développer des formes d'organisation qui permettent de diminuer ces frais, et non de les plafonner comme l'exigent les règles appliquées dans les pays de l'Union Économique et monétaire de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (UEMAO). Nous avons réalisé également que la communauté d'intérêt et d'esprit des CFs combinée avec le prêt collectif diminuent les coûts de recherche d'information sur les emprunteurs ainsi que les coûts de surveillance, ce qui les permet d'atténuer les problèmes d'asymétrie d'information, de sélection adverse et d'aléa moral ex-post. À travers les CFs, les membres bénéficient d'un capifal social individuel mais aussi communautaire. Nous avons constaté à travers cette recherche que les outils et mesures de performance principalement sociale ne rendent pas fidèlement compte de la réalisation de ce capital social. Cette conclusion incite à mettre l'accent sur le développement d'outils et d'indicateurs de performance plus fidèles dans les études futures dans ce secteur. De plus, comme cette recherche s'est limitée aux coopératives, il serait intéressant de procéder à une étude comparative entre ces dernières et les autres formes d'organisations que nous retrouvons dans le secteur de la microfinance afin d'analyser quelle forme d'organisation se révèle plus efficace dans un contexte donné pour offrir des services de microfinance. ______________________________________________________________________________ MOTS-CLÉS DE L’AUTEUR : Microfinance, Coopératives financières, Microcrédit, Performance sociale, Asymétrie d'information, Coût de transaction, Avantages coopératives, Proxfin.