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Microfinance and the Challenge of Financial Inclusion for Development

Author

Listed:
  • Jayati Ghosh

    (Jawaharlal Nehru University)

Abstract

Within a relatively short time, perhaps just a decade, microfinance has gone from being hero to zero in the development discourse: from being lauded as the silver bullet to solve the problems of development and poverty reduction, to being derided as the progenitor of financial instability and enhanced vulnerability among the poorest people. The mushrooming of microfinance institutions of both non-profit and profit varieties was very quickly followed by crises in many of the same developing countries that were earlier seen as the most prominent sites of success. In this context, it may well be argued that it is fine to reject microfinance as the means for either poverty reduction or economic diversification, but then how do policy makers address the problems of the exclusion of the poor from formal financial institutions? Since it is clearly not the silver bullet to solve development problems, microfinance needs to be treated as one small element of a broader set of financial strategies for development.

Suggested Citation

  • Jayati Ghosh, 2012. "Microfinance and the Challenge of Financial Inclusion for Development," Ensayos Económicos, Central Bank of Argentina, Economic Research Department, vol. 1(67), pages 7-34, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bcr:ensayo:v:1:y:2012:i:67:p:7-34
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    Cited by:

    1. Mathilde Maîtrot & Miguel Niño-Zarazúa, 2017. "Poverty and wellbeing impacts of microfinance: What do we know?," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2017-190, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    2. Ozili, Peterson K, 2020. "Financial inclusion research around the world: a review," MPRA Paper 101809, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Salvador Cruz Rambaud & Joaquín López Pascual & Roberto Moro-Visconti & Emilio M. Santandreu, 2022. "Should gender be a determinant factor for granting crowdfunded microloans?," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-13, December.
    4. Merrey, D. J. & Lefore, Nicole, 2018. "Improving the availability and effectiveness of rural and “Micro” finance for small-scale irrigation in Sub-Saharan Africa: a review of lessons learned," IWMI Working Papers H049027, International Water Management Institute.
    5. Kamel Bel Hadj Miled & Moheddine Younsi & Monia Landolsi, 2022. "Does microfinance program innovation reduce income inequality? Cross-country and panel data analysis," Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 11(1), pages 1-15, December.
    6. Mathilde Maîtrot & Miguel Niño-Zarazúa, 2017. "Poverty and wellbeing impacts of microfinance: What do we know?," WIDER Working Paper Series 190, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    7. Chao, Xiangrui & Kou, Gang & Peng, Yi & Viedma, Enrique Herrera, 2021. "Large-scale group decision-making with non-cooperative behaviors and heterogeneous preferences: An application in financial inclusion," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 288(1), pages 271-293.
    8. Ozili, Peterson K, 2022. "Does economic policy uncertainty reduce financial inclusion?," MPRA Paper 111052, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. P. K. Priyan & Wakara Ibrahimu Nyabakora & Geofrey Rwezimula, 2023. "A bibliometric review of the knowledge base on financial inclusion," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 3(2), pages 1-21, February.
    10. Gyorgy Molnar & Attila Havas, 2019. "Escaping from the poverty trap with social innovation: a social microcredit programme in Hungary," CERS-IE WORKING PAPERS 1912, Institute of Economics, Centre for Economic and Regional Studies.
    11. Jiamin Liu & Xiaoyu Ma & Wenli Jia & Sisi Zhang, 2022. "Can New-Type Urbanization Construction Narrow the Urban–Rural Income Gap? Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-25, November.
    12. Shahid Manzoor Shah & Amjad Ali, 2022. "A Survey on Financial Inclusion: Theoretical and Empirical Literature Review," Journal of Policy Research (JPR), Research Foundation for Humanity (RFH), vol. 8(4), pages 310-330, December.
    13. Sandeep Kandikuppa & Clark Gray, 2022. "Climate change and household debt in rural India," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 173(3), pages 1-27, August.
    14. Thereza Balliester Reis, 2021. "What is financial inclusion? A critical review," Working Papers 246, Department of Economics, SOAS University of London, UK.
    15. Ozili, Peterson K, 2023. "Benefits of digital-only financial inclusion," MPRA Paper 118796, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Lalitagauri Kulkarni, 2017. "Financial efficiency versus social outreach of Indian microfinance institutions: mission drift or character shift?," Journal of Social and Economic Development, Springer;Institute for Social and Economic Change, vol. 19(2), pages 323-340, October.
    17. Bao Zhu & Shiting Zhai & Jing He, 2018. "Is the Development of China’s Financial Inclusion Sustainable? Evidence from a Perspective of Balance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-16, April.
    18. Vanesa Pesqué‐Cela & Lihui Tian & Deming Luo & Damian Tobin & Gerhard Kling, 2021. "Defining and measuring financial inclusion: A systematic review and confirmatory factor analysis," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(2), pages 316-341, March.
    19. Mia, Md Aslam & Ben Soltane, Bassem Ibrahim, 2016. "Productivity and its determinants in microfinance institutions (MFIs): Evidence from South Asian countries," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 32-45.
    20. Gaurav Sinha, 2015. "Responding to Complexity: Microfinance MIS Service Providers as Complex Adaptive Systems," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Economies, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, vol. 1(2), pages 163-180, July.
    21. Amit Pandey & Ravi Kiran & Rakesh Kumar Sharma, 2023. "Investigating the Determinants of Financial Inclusion in BRICS Economies: Panel Data Analysis Using Fixed-Effect and Cross-Section Random Effect," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-21, January.
    22. Fu, Jonathan, 2020. "Ability or opportunity to act: What shapes financial well-being?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    23. Alicia Girón & Amirreza Kazemikhasragh & Antonella Francesca Cicchiello & Eva Panetti, 2022. "Financial Inclusion Measurement in the Least Developed Countries in Asia and Africa," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 13(2), pages 1198-1211, June.
    24. Huang, Ruixian & Kale, Seenaiah & Paramati, Sudharshan Reddy & Taghizadeh-Hesary, Farhad, 2021. "The nexus between financial inclusion and economic development: Comparison of old and new EU member countries," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 1-15.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    development; development banking; financial crisis; financial regulation and supervision; India; microcredit; microfinance; poverty;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G01 - Financial Economics - - General - - - Financial Crises
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • G28 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • O10 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - General
    • I30 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General

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