Financial Sector Policy and the Poor: Selected Findings and Issues (World Bank Working Paper No. 43)
"Financial Sector Policy and the Poor presents new empirical evidence on how financial sector policy can help the poor. It is often thought that promotion of specialized microfinance institutions is the best or only way forward. However, a strong mainstream financial system is also pro-poor - perhaps even more so. While mainstream financial depth is measurably associated with lower poverty, for microfinance this is not yet so. The roles played by microfinance and mainstream finance in...
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This World Bank working paper argues that mainstream finance and microfinance should be used together tackle poverty, suggesting that the two are not as mutually exclusive options as many assume. The paper quantifies the variation in microfinance penetration rates, considers the need for economies of scale for microfinance and mainstream finance institutions, reviews the literature on impact, and considers the need for protection from predatory lending practices. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
1Introduction12Microfinance penetration33Is microfinance different to the mainstream?114Impact235Protecting the vulnerable356Concluding remarks43App. AMicrofinance penetration45App. BMFI scale and profitability53App. CPoverty rates and financial depth61App. DPredatory lending69
