Este trabalho apresenta uma investigação empírica sobre impacto do microcrédito no resultado operacional dos micro e pequenos empreendedores. Primeiramente, será realizada uma revisão da literatura sobre os conceitos do microcrédito, considerando o seu contexto mundial e nacional. Posteriormente, haverá a avaliação acerca da assimetria de informações, a Teoria Agente-Principal e a Teoria Geral do Emprego, do Juro e da Moeda. Na parte empírica, a partir de dados coletados junto ao Banrisul referente às operações de concessões de empréstimo a micro e pequenos empreendedores do Programa Gaúcho de Microcrédito (PGM), serão feitas considerações a respeito dos dados relativos ao período do início de 2012 até o final de 2014. O PGM é uma iniciativa pública que conta com a coordenação da Secretaria de Desenvolvimento Econômico, Ciência e Tecnologia. Utilizando a metodologia econométrica de regressão múltipla, o trabalho revela que o microcrédito é uma modalidade que contribui à economia gaúcha, especialmente se acompanhada de outras variáveis, como o grau de escolaridade, o gênero, a renda per capita e o valor emprestado pelo PGM. A amostra foi de 27.155 empréstimos do total já concedido em 2014 de 96.616 operações. A análise estatística dos dados demonstrou que o impacto do microcrédito na geração de renda e nos micro e pequenos empreendimentos não é desprezível. Os resultados deste trabalho demonstram que o Poder Público pode intervir positivamente com a modalidade do microcrédito a fim de promover uma política de geração de renda em escala estadual e federal dentre as alternativas econômicas para o Brasil. / This paper presents an empirical research on the impact of microcredit on the operating result of micro and small entrepreneurs. First, there will be a review of the literature on microcredit concepts, considering its global and national context. Later, there will be an evaluation of the asymmetry of information, the Agent-Principal Theory and the General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money. In the empirical part, from data collected from the Banrisul related to loan operations concessions to micro and small entrepreneurs of the Gaúcho Microcredit Program (PGM), considerations will be made concerning the data for the period from early 2012 until the end of 2014. The PGM is a public initiative with the coordination of the Economic Development, Science and Technology Department. Using econometric methodology of multiple regression, the study reveals that microcredit is a modality that contributes to the state's economy, especially if accompanied by other variables, such as level of education, gender, per capita income and the loan value by PGM. The sample consisted of 27,155 total loans already granted in 2014 to 96,616 operations. Statistical analysis of the data showed that the impact of microcredit on income generation and micro and small enterprises is not negligible. These results show that the Government can intervene positively in the form of microcredit in order to promote income-generating policy at the state and federal level among economic alternatives to Brazil.

Over the last few decades, microfinance industry has played an essential role in alleviating poverty level and helping the underprivileged, by enabling access to myriads of financial services. Statistics from the World Bank reveals that, currently, only 4% of the underprivileged were served out of the 3 billion potential clients. Such results were due to several claims, particularly the operational and financial challenges faced by the MFIs in the constant flux, inviting more attentions towards its performance. While explicit focuses were given by many researchers towards mobile banking and Information Communication Technology (ICT) and online services in improving the MFIs performance, the study on how Social Media, as a rapidly growing online phenomenon, could affect the MFIs performance remain scarce. Hence, this study was aimed at investigating and clarifying the impact of social media on MFIs, based on four dimensional performance indicators: efficiency, financial sustainability, portfolio quality, and outreach. A model was developed utilising Resource Based-View (RBV) Theory, to test the relationship between social media application and organisational performance. A quantitative approach has been adopted employing from web-based questionnaires, to collect data from MFIs employees in developing countries such as Kenya, India and Jordan. Structured Equation Modelling (SEM) technique (i.e. SPSS and AMOS 20 software) was used as a tool to analyse the responses. Results revealed a significant influence of the social media over the MFIs performance, offering valuable insights to both researchers and practitioners in the domain of micro-finance, as well as social media – conforming that the adoption of social media as marketing, advertising and communication tools could significantly improve the MFIs performance. Keywords: Microfinance, Microfinance Institution Performance, Social Media, Resource Based View Theory.

Cette thèse est une étude socioéconomique qui analyse la dynamique de pénétration et de socialisation des instituts de micro-finance (IMF) en Moyenne Guinée (république de Guinée), à travers les logiques d’acteurs et les transformations sociales associées à cette forme nouvelle de bancarisation qui cible les pauvres. La première partie présente le cadre de la recherche et indique que, pour l’État, la législation et les investisseurs, les IMF sont nés pour affaiblir l’économie informelle. La deuxième partie montre que pratiques et ressorts de légitimation des IMF assurent la pénétration sociale du monopole idéologique de la gouvernance globale de la pauvreté (OMD, DSRP, PPTE), constituant au passage une aubaine pour des entrepreneurs des réseaux parfois affiliés au pouvoir. Néanmoins, l’enquête de terrain montre que les clients de la Moyen Guinée sont abonnés autant aux IMF qu’aux régimes d’endettement et d’épargne très anciens qui résistent au changement et permettent de tenir dans la crise, d’assumer sa position sociale ou d’entreprendre son émancipation (cas des femmes). Dans la troisième partie, nous verrons que l’importance des IMF en Moyenne Guinée n’est pas tant dans la réduction de la pauvreté qu’ils aggravent parfois par le surendettement des ménages, que dans le renouvellement de la problématique du « développement » et des politiques publiques, ou l’introduction de la question sociale / This thesis is a sociological and economic study which analyzes the dynamic of penetration and socialization of Microloans Institutes (MLI) in Middle Guinea (region in republic of Guinea). Focalizing on actors logics and social transformations associated to this new form of entrance in bank system dedicated to poor people, the study presents, in a 1st part, the framework (context and concepts of study), noting that for state, legislation and entrepreneurs, the aim of MFI presence in Guinea is to break informal economy. In the 2nd part, practices and legitimating strategies of MLI assures a social penetration to the monopolistic ideology of “global governance of poverty” (MDG, PRSP, HIPC), constituting an opportunity for business men probably affiliated to governmental network. However, the reality of the ground reveals that in Middle Guinea, people are MLI costumers as much as members of old ant informal microloans groups, which resist to the change and help to hold in times of crisis, to assume social position or to engage a social emancipation process (case of women). In the 3rd part we will see that the importance of microloans institutions in Middle Guinea is not to reduce poverty-they contribute in some cases to accelerate household indebtedness-but to renew the problematic of “development”, public policies, introducing poverty as social issue.

Banco do Nordeste do Brasil / Objetiva-se identificar fatores que influenciam a inadimplÃncia dos financiamentos realizados pelo Banco do Nordeste do Brasil (BNB) no Cearà atravÃs do Programa de microfinanÃas rurais Agroamigo. Neste sentido investigam-se caracterÃsticas individuais, dos financiamentos, das atividades e do mercado, e ainda a condiÃÃo de beneficiÃrio do Programa Bolsa FamÃlia. A partir de informaÃÃes coletadas em questionÃrios socioeconÃmicos, determinam-se as variÃveis que influenciam a inadimplÃncia dos financiamentos por meio de um modelo de regressÃo LOGIT. Conclui-se que as variÃveis bolsa-famÃlia, estado civil, escolaridade, sexo, prazo do financiamento, periodicidade das parcelas e capacidade empresarial sÃo relevantes para a inadimplÃncia. / This work aims to identify factors that influence the default of loans made by Banco do Nordeste do Brasil (BNB) in Cearà through the rural microfinance program of BNB, the Agroamigo. Thus we investigate individual characteristics, financing, and market activities, and also the condition of recieving the Family Grant Program Bolsa FamÃlia. From information collected on socio-economic surveys, we determine the variables that influence the default of loans through a Logit regression model. We conclude that the variables Bolsa Familia, marital status, education, gender, period of funding, timing of plots and antrepreneurship are relevant to the default.

O objetivo desta tese é avaliar empiricamente como as famílias pobres tomam decisões em relação à poupança. Mais especificamente, busca-se estudar a vida econômica das famílias pobres de assentamentos rurais, no norte do estado do Tocantins. Para atingir esse propósito, quatro objetivos específicos da pesquisa foram concebidos como eixos de investigação. O primeiro considera a abordagem do desenvolvimento como liberdade e expansão das capacitações dos indivíduos como aspecto fundamental para análise e estudo da pobreza. O segundo objetivo aborda o estudo da vida econômica dos pobres em várias dimensões. O terceiro objetivo considera os principais estudos na área da economia comportamental acerca das influências das barreiras cognitivas, em especial o viés do presente, sobre a tomada de decisão financeira. Por fim, o quarto objetivo analisa o desenvolvimento histórico e o contexto socioeconômico da região onde se realizou a pesquisa de campo. No que tange à estratégia de coleta de dados, foi realizada uma pesquisa de campo por meio de entrevistas semiestruturadas com responsáveis e corresponsáveis pela unidade familiar. As principais evidências da tese são: (a) não predomina nesses assentamentos a figura do agricultor tradicional; (b) as famílias adotam estratégias para obter diferentes fontes de renda; (c) a privação de liberdade dos assentados vincula-se, entre outras coisas, ao não acesso aos serviços públicos essenciais; (d) a conversão de terras públicas em ativos financeiros negociáveis no mercado é uma prática comum entre as famílias; (e) emergências de saúde e necessidades financeiras somam-se aos eventos decorrentes dos conflitos agrários da região; (f) a maioria dos atos financeiros das famílias se processa em mercados imperfeitos com elevados custos de transação; (g) como forma de sobrevivência, as famílias adotam estratégias baseadas nas relações de confiança e reciprocidade para consolidação dos ativos sociais; (h) grande parte das famílias é excluída do sistema financeiro formal e depende de credores informais e de poupança não monetária para atender as necessidades de curto prazo. Conclui-se que a baixa capacidade de aspirar e o viés do presente, potencializados pela condição de pobreza, compromete severamente a capacidade de poupança e tomada de decisão em relação ao futuro dessas famílias. As escolhas que fazem perpetuam sua condição de pobreza. Desse modo, algumas lições e sugestões são extraídas do estudo para o aprofundamento de pesquisas futuras e aprimoramento do desenho de políticas. / The purpose of this thesis is to empirically evaluate how poor households make decisions regarding savings. More specifically, it seeks to study the economic life of the poor families of rural settlements, in the north of the state of Tocantins. To achieve this purpose, four specific research objectives were designed as research axes. The first considers the development approach as freedom and expansion of the capacities of individuals as a fundamental aspect for analysis and study of poverty. The second objective addresses the study of the economic life of the poor in various dimensions. The third objective considers the main studies in the area of behavioral economics on the influences of cognitive barriers, especially the present bias, on financial decision making. Finally, the fourth objective analyzes the historical development and the socioeconomic context of the region where the field research was carried out. With regard to the data collection strategy, a field survey was carried out through semi-structured interviews with those responsible and co-responsible for the family unit. The main evidences of the thesis are: (a) the traditional farmer does not predominate in these settlements; (b) families adopt strategies to obtain different sources of income; (c) the deprivation of liberty of the settlers is linked, among other things, to the lack of access to essential public services; (d) the conversion of public lands into marketable financial assets in the market is a common practice among households; (e) health emergencies and financial needs add to the events resulting from the agrarian conflicts in the region; (f) the majority of households\' financial transactions take place in imperfect markets with high transaction costs; (g) as a way of survival, families adopt strategies based on relationships of trust and reciprocity to consolidate social assets; (h) most households are excluded from the formal financial system and rely on informal creditors and non-monetary savings to meet short-term needs. It is concluded that the low capacity to aspire and the bias of the present, potentialized by the poverty condition, severely compromises the capacity of savings and decision making regarding the future of these families. The choices they make perpetuate their poverty condition. Thus, some lessons and suggestions are drawn from the study to deepen future research and improve policy design.

A tese analisa o processo de construção de cidadania através da (re)definição da identidade socioprofissional de mulheres rurais. Trata-se de mulheres envolvidas em atividades agropecuárias, agroindustriais e artesanais, que participam em dois programas de microfinanciamento – o Proyecto de Desarrollo Rural Integral Autosostenible (PDRIA), no México, e o Sistema de Cooperativa de Crédito com Integração Solidária (CRESOL), no Brasil – para o acesso aos instrumentos produtivos (crédito, capacitação e assistência técnica). Neste sentido, a (re)definição da identidade profissional, as qualifica para o domínio dos instrumentos produtivos e dos processos decisórios que lhes atribui reconhecimento pela validação social dessas atividades, através do acesso ao mercado ao serviço de assistência técnica. Este processo de inclusão, através do microfinanciamento, agrega renda na família e dinamiza o desenvolvimento rural tanto na propriedade familiar quanto na localidade. O acesso e usos do crédito possibilitam às mulheres agregarem atividades que contribuem para a reprodução social das famílias agricultora, porém, sem romper com as atividades tradicionais e em muitos casos, ampliando-as. Esta aquisição de identidades socioprofissional possui profunda inter-relação com o sentido e conceito do trabalho. O desenvolvimento da cidadania está se materializando através do processo de profissionalização com apoio das políticas do microfinanciamento e, esta experiência estimula a participação em outras organizações na sociedade e mesmo na política. Este processo amplia suas necessidades simbólicas, além das materiais, estimulando a apropriação de conhecimentos e de acessos a bens culturais que facilitam a vinculação de sua cidadania ao processo de globalização, atribuindo maior competitividade às atividades produtivas. / This thesis deals with the process of construction of citizenship through the redefinition of professional identity of rural women. It concerns to women that are involved in farm, agro industrial and craftsmanship activities who participate in two programs of microfinance – Proyecto de Desarrollo Rural Integral Autosostenible (PDRIA), in Mexico, and Sistema de Cooperativa de Crédito com Integração Solidária (CRESOL), in Brazil – in order to access the productive instruments (credit, capacitation and technical assistance). In this sense, the redefinition of the professional identity qualifies them to the domain of the productive instruments and the processes of decision which attribute them recognition for the validation of these activities through the access to the market and technical assistance services. This process of inclusion through microfinance adds economic resources in the family and becomes rural development more dynamic in the familiar property and also in the community. However, the access and the uses of the credit become possible to the women to add activities that contribute to the social reproduction of the agricultural families without breaking traditional activities and, in many cases, wide them. This acquisition of socioprofissional identities has some deep interrelation with sense and concept of work. The citizenship development is raising through the process of professionalization with some support of microfinance policies and this experience stimulates the participation in other organizations of the society and even so in politics. This process increases their symbolical necessities, besides material necessities, stimulating the appropriation of knowledge and the access of cultural possessions that facilitate the linkage of their citizenship to the globalization process, and become their productive activities more competitive.

A regulação das microfinanças deve ser compreendida como parte do arcabouço institucional e legal das políticas para o setor. Nesse sentido, houve uma recente aceleração do setor de microfinanças no Brasil desde o final dos anos 90, em consonância com novos paradigmas que ensejaram diversas mudanças legais e regulatórias tendentes a promover sua expansão. Novas iniciativas regulatórias e políticas governamentais têm sido adotadas desde então, muitas delas positivas: políticas relacionadas ao papel das instituições financeiras públicas e privadas, outras relacionadas a renda e educação. Neste estudo, baseado fortemente em dados do Banco Central do Brasil, os seguintes temas são examinados com alguma profundidade: acesso a serviços financeiros, a importância do microcrédito para pequenos empreendedores alijados do mercado de trabalho formal, princípios e boas práticas das microfinanças, arcabouço institucional e legal, os diferentes enquadramentos normativos das Organizações Civis de Interesse Público e das Sociedades de Crédito ao Microempreendedor, o papel central das autoridades reguladoras, do Banco do Nordeste do Brasil BNB e do Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico BNDES. / Microfinance regulation should be understood as an integral part of a microfinance policy framework. In this sense, there was a recent acceleration in Brazils microfinance sector from the end of the 1990s, due to a new political paradigms leading to a series of legal and regulatory changes favoring the expansion of microfinance. New regulatory initiatives and government policies have been adopted, many positive: policies related to the role of public and private financial institutions, and others related to income and education. In this study, based largely on Banco Central do Brasil BCB (Central Bank of Brazil) data, the following areas are examined in some depth: access to financial services, the importance of microcredit for the self-employed and for small entrepreneurs, the principles of good microfinance practice, institutional and legal framework, the multiple regulatory windows of Organizações da Sociedade Civil de Intereresse Público OSCIPs (Public Interest Civil Societes) and Sociedades de Crédito ao Microempreendedor SCMs (Microfinance Credit Societes), the substantial role of the regulatory authorities and of the public banks Banco do Nordeste do Brasil - BNB (North-east Bank) and Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social BNDES (National Bank for Economic and Social Development).

O Microcrédito ganhou notoriedade a partir da experiência do Banco Grameen, em Bangladesh, nos anos 70. A expansão e o crescimento das microfinanças, nas últimas décadas, atraiu a atenção de pesquisadores e governos, tornando-se um instrumento de políticas públicas para o combate à pobreza, e trouxe com elas a necessidade de maior transparência e de padronização das informações sobre o desempenho financeiro para alcançar dois objetivos: a atração de recursos financeiros de organismos internacionais de auxílio e fomento, bancos de desenvolvimento e investidores, para funding das operações; permitir a comparação dos resultados Instituições Microfinanceiras. No Brasil, o Microcrédito surgiu nos anos 70, e ganhou maior impulso no final da década de 90, quando se criou a regulamentação específica para o setor. Este trabalho teve por objetivo definir um modelo de medição de performance para as instituições financeiras não bancárias autorizadas a trabalhar neste segmento, as Sociedades de Crédito ao Microempreendedor, avaliar seu desempenho quanto à qualidade dos ativos, eficiência operacional, gestão financeira e lucratividade, no período de dezembro de 2000 a dezembro de 2004, e compará-lo ao de Instituições Microfinanceiras atuando na América Latina. Partindo de uma extensa pesquisa bibliográfica, identificou indicadores de performance usados internacionalmente, cujos conceitos foram amplamente discutidos e consensados. Eles foram adaptados ao Plano Contábil das Instituições Financeiras e aplicados aos dados de balanço e demonstrativo de resultados fornecidos pelo Banco Central do Brasil, permitindo traçar um painel da evolução do segmento de microcrédito atendido pelas Sociedades de Credito ao Microempreendedor. A avaliação do comportamento dos indicadores indicou um segmento em desenvolvimento; um processo de crescimento baseado em capital próprio, com baixa utilização de recursos de terceiros; resultados financeiros elevados que, quando combinados com despesas altas, geram resultados modestos. A comparação com as operações em outros países latino-americanos mostrou que as Sociedades de Crédito ao Microempreendedor possuem ativos de maior risco, menor eficiência operacional, nível de endividamento muito mais baixo e índices de lucratividade menos significativos que os de suas pares internacionais. Mostrou, também, que as instituições locais são muito menores e mais jovens. Para o desenvolvimento do microcrédito no Brasil, é fundamental que o governo aumente a atratividade do setor, e atue para resolver uma falha de mercado, onde as instituições privadas não estão totalmente à vontade para atuar, criando condições para a expansão das entidades privadas e para a entrada de instituições internacionais, trazendo o conhecimento e a experiência de outros mercados. / The Grameen Bank experience of lending small money to poor people, in Bangladesh, during the seventies, made microcredit famous all over the world. Microfinance growing and expansion in the last two decades attracted attention of researchers and governments, becoming a new public policy tool in order to combat poverty, and demanded more transparent and standardized performance information not only to support investment decisions for donors, development banks and investors, but also to make international benchmarking possible. In Brazil, microcredit appeared in the 1970s, but started to grow rapidly in the 1990s, when a specific legal framework was established. The present study aimed to: define a performance model for brazilian non banking finance institutions handling microcredit, Sociedades de Crédito ao Microempreendedor; create performance indicators to evaluate asset quality, operational efficiency, financial management, and profitability, over a period of 5 yeras, 2000-2004; make a benchmark with latin american microfinance institutions. A bibliographic research identified internationally adopted performance indicators, whose concepts and definitions were fully discussed and consensed. They were adapted according to the Accounting Chart for Institutions of the National Financial System, COSIF, and applied to institutions balance sheet data furnished by brazilian Central Bank, providing an overview of the microcredit segment operated by Sociedades de Crédito ao Microempreendedor. Indicators evaluation showed that brazilian microfinance instituitions operate in a development market, have low debt-equity ratios, and achieve good financial results that are offset by high expenses. The benchmark with other latin american microfinance institutions showed that brazilian ones have poorer asset quality, lower operational efficiency and debt-equity ratio, and worse financial results. They are also smaller and younger than their latin american peers. In order to incentive microcredit expansion and development, brazilian government policies must fix a market failure, that private institutions and commercial banks are not fully supportive of microcredit. This could make brazilian market more attractive for national and international institutions, bringing more investments and estimulating consulting services, which would aggregate knowledge and experience from other markets.

In Ethiopia, the economic dilemmas facing the country have had various effects on the society at large. Given this situation, the high rates of urbanization and uneployment has resulted in that more and more people end up in small-scale activities within the informal economy. Although the informal sector has become increasingly noticeable in Addis Ababa, it is commonly neglected and separated from the formal economy. In light of the contemporary Ethiopian society, this study has nonetheless argued that the wide range of economic activities found within the informal sector is indispensable and should be integrated with the formal economy. Instead of perceiving the informal economy as an economic malfunction, this study has aimed to explore its future potential through the help of microfinance institutions. It has also looked into how the informal sector can be defined and its main characteristics. To gain an increased understanding of how informal workers perceive their own life situation, semi-structured interviews have been carried out with informal workers from the Meklit Microfinance Institution. The theoretical framework of Friedmann's 'Whole Economy Model' and 'Disempowerment Model' was moreover applied in recognizing the role of the household as well as to which extent MFIs could be said to have increased the social power of the informal sector.             The main conclusions of this essay are that there are highly diverse features of informal workers and their businesses, which accordingly implies that MFIs need to reflect this diversity in their general operations. Although MFIs were recognized as carrying a strong potential for the development of informal activities, there were some identified obstacles in for example their organizational structure which consequently affected the profitability of their clients' businesses. The role of Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) was also recognized as having the possibility to develop into a new type of labout union as to empower the informal sector and gradually lead to a natural continuation of the formal economy.

Microfinance Performance and Social Capital: A Cross-country AnalysisThis paper investigates the relationship between the extent to which social capital formation is facilitated within different societies, and the financial and social performance of MFIs. We carry out a cross-country analysis on a dataset containing 100 countries. We identify different social dimensions that we use as proxies for how easy social capital can be developed in different countries, and we hypothesize that microfinance is more successful, both in terms of their financial and social aims, in societies that are more conducive to the development of social capital. Our empirical results support our hypothesis. / Defining Social Collateral in Microfinance Group Lending: Microfinance group lending with joint liability allows asset-poor individuals to replace physical collateral by social collateral. This paper provides a theoretical framework to evaluate the impact of social collateral pledged by group borrowers on group lending repayment. We take into account the external ties of group borrowers, i.e. the social ties linking borrowers to non-borrowers from their community, whereas previous work in this field has looked solely at internal ties (i.e. ties between group members). Our model stresses the impact of network configuration on the amount of social capital pledged as collateral. It shows why the group lending methodology works better in rural areas than in urban areas, namely because rural social networks are typically denser than urban ones, which results in higher social collateral. / The Economic Value of Social Capital:Empirical studies on the importance of social capital for poor households show divergent outcomes. This divergence may stem from the lack of a conceptual framework for capturing the social capital dimensions that deliver economic value to individuals. This paper defines individual social capital from an economic perspective and proposes a measurement based on the two dimensions of individual social capital that bring economic value to individuals: (1) informal risk insurance arrangements and (2) information advantages that arise from personal social networks. Using this measurement, I present a numerical application to argue that differing network configurations drive asymmetry of social interactions among individuals. / Social Capital and the Repayment of Microfinance Group Lending: A Case Study of Pro Mujer Mexico:In this paper, we investigate how social networks of group borrowers come into play in joint liability group lending. We use a large, original dataset with 802 mapped social networks of borrowers from Pro Mujer Mexico. We are the first to examine external ties, that is, social ties with individuals outside the borrowing group. We have two main findings. First, borrowers with stronger informal risk insurance arrangements are in better economic shape and have a higher capacity to pay than borrowers with weaker informal risk insurance arrangements. Second, borrowers who pledge valuable ties as social collateral have fewer repayment problems. We postulate that borrowers receive effective help from their ties in cases of need. / Doctorat en Sciences économiques et de gestion / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished