IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/aiz/louvad/2025019.html

Gender Effects on Microfinance Social Efficiency: A Robust Approach Incorporating Undesirable Outputs

Author

Listed:
  • Daraio, Cinzia
  • Fall, François Seck
  • Simar, Léopold

    (Université catholique de Louvain, LIDAM/ISBA, Belgium)

  • Vanhems, Anne

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of gender diversity at both the strategic and operational levels on the social efficiency of microfinance institutions (MFIs). Specifically, we assess how the presence of women on boards and among loan officers influences MFIs’ ability to deliver social outcomes, particularly in serving female borrowers, considering the portion of the loan portfolio that is delinquent or overdue as an undesirable output. Using a novel robust nonparametric frontier estimation method developed by Daraio and Simar (2024), we estimate both efficiency scores and their derivatives, allowing for a more nuanced evaluation of marginal effects and returns to scale. Our analysis draws on a cross-sectional dataset of 346 MFIs worldwide, incorporating directional distance functions and conditional efficiency frontiers based on external gender-related variables. The findings reveal that while the direct effect of gender composition on inputs and outputs is limited, there is a significant joint and non-linear impact of female board and loan officer representation on mitigating the negative effects of portfolio delinquency. These results underscore the importance of integrated gender diversity across strategic and field levels in enhancing the social performance of MFIs and provide actionable insights for policymakers aiming to promote inclusive financial practices.

Suggested Citation

  • Daraio, Cinzia & Fall, François Seck & Simar, Léopold & Vanhems, Anne, 2025. "Gender Effects on Microfinance Social Efficiency: A Robust Approach Incorporating Undesirable Outputs," LIDAM Discussion Papers ISBA 2025019, Université catholique de Louvain, Institute of Statistics, Biostatistics and Actuarial Sciences (ISBA).
    • Handle: RePEc:aiz:louvad:2025019
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://dial.uclouvain.be/pr/boreal/en/object/boreal%3A307416/datastream/PDF_01/view
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Md Imran Hossain & Md Aslam Mia & Lucia Dalla Pellegrina, 2024. "A systematic review of gender diversity and its impact on the performance of Microfinance Institutions," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 10(1), pages 1-23, December.
    2. Cinzia Daraio & Léopold Simar, 2024. "Approximations and inference for envelopment estimators of production frontiers," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 62(2), pages 197-215, October.
    3. Boehe, Dirk Michael & Barin Cruz, Luciano, 2013. "Gender and Microfinance Performance: Why Does the Institutional Context Matter?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 121-135.
    4. Haileslasie Tadele & Helen Roberts & Rosalind H. Whiting, 2018. "Microfinance institutions’ transparency in Sub-Saharan Africa," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(14), pages 1601-1616, March.
    5. Léopold Simar & Paul W. Wilson, 2023. "Nonparametric, Stochastic Frontier Models with Multiple Inputs and Outputs," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(4), pages 1391-1403, October.
    6. Périlleux, Anaïs & Szafarz, Ariane, 2015. "Women Leaders and Social Performance: Evidence from Financial Cooperatives in Senegal," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 437-452.
    7. F. S. Fall & H. Tchakoute Tchuigoua & A. Vanhems & L. Simar, 2023. "Investigating the unobserved heterogeneity effect on outreach to women: lessons from microfinance institutions," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 328(2), pages 1365-1386, September.
    8. Simar, Léopold & Vanhems, Anne, 2012. "Probabilistic characterization of directional distances and their robust versions," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 166(2), pages 342-354.
    9. Cazals, Catherine & Florens, Jean-Pierre & Simar, Leopold, 2002. "Nonparametric frontier estimation: a robust approach," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 106(1), pages 1-25, January.
    10. D’Espallier, Bert & Guérin, Isabelle & Mersland, Roy, 2011. "Women and Repayment in Microfinance: A Global Analysis," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 39(5), pages 758-772.
    11. Hartarska, Valentina, 2005. "Governance and performance of microfinance institutions in Central and Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 33(10), pages 1627-1643, October.
    12. Jensen, Michael C. & Meckling, William H., 1976. "Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 305-360, October.
    13. Bibi, Uzma & Balli, Hatice Ozer & Matthews, Claire D. & Tripe, David W.L., 2018. "Impact of gender and governance on microfinance efficiency," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 307-319.
    14. Adams, Renée B. & Ferreira, Daniel, 2009. "Women in the boardroom and their impact on governance and performance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(2), pages 291-309, November.
    15. Cinzia Daraio & Léopold Simar & Paul W. Wilson, 2020. "Fast and efficient computation of directional distance estimators," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 288(2), pages 805-835, May.
    16. Beatriz Armendáriz & Jonathan Morduch, 2010. "The Economics of Microfinance, Second Edition," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 2, volume 1, number 0262513986, December.
    17. Fried, Harold O. & Lovell, C. A. Knox & Schmidt, Shelton S. (ed.), 2008. "The Measurement of Productive Efficiency and Productivity Growth," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780195183528.
    18. Fall, F.S. & Tchakoute Tchuigoua, H. & Vanhems, A. & Simar, L., 2021. "Gender effect on microfinance social efficiency: A robust nonparametric approach," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 295(2), pages 744-757.
    19. Tarekegn Tariku Ebissa & Arega Seyoum Asfaw, 2024. "Gender diversity and profit efficiency of microfinance institutions: A Sub-Saharan study," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 19(8), pages 1-15, August.
    20. Hartarska, Valentina M., 2005. "Governance and Performance of Microfinance Institutions in Central and Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States," 2005 International Congress, August 23-27, 2005, Copenhagen, Denmark 24568, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    21. Mark Schreiner, 2002. "Aspects of outreach: a framework for discussion of the social benefits of microfinance," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 14(5), pages 591-603.
    22. Debdatta Pal & Subrata K. Mitra, 2018. "The efficiency of microfinance institutions with problem loans: A directional distance function approach," Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 285-307, September.
    23. Mersland, Roy & Strøm, Reidar Øystein, 2009. "Performance and governance in microfinance institutions," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 33(4), pages 662-669.
    24. Cinzia Daraio & Léopold Simar, 2005. "Introducing Environmental Variables in Nonparametric Frontier Models: a Probabilistic Approach," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 24(1), pages 93-121, September.
    25. Rachana Vishwakarma, 2017. "Women on Board and its Impact on Performance: Evidence from Microfinance Sector," Indian Journal of Corporate Governance, , vol. 10(1), pages 58-73, June.
    26. Wilson, Paul W., 2018. "Dimension reduction in nonparametric models of production," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 267(1), pages 349-367.
    27. R. G. Chambers & Y. Chung & R. Färe, 1998. "Profit, Directional Distance Functions, and Nerlovian Efficiency," Journal of Optimization Theory and Applications, Springer, vol. 98(2), pages 351-364, August.
    28. Cinzia Daraio & Léopold Simar, 2007. "Conditional nonparametric frontier models for convex and nonconvex technologies: a unifying approach," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 28(1), pages 13-32, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Fall, F.S. & Tchakoute Tchuigoua, H. & Vanhems, A. & Simar, L., 2021. "Gender effect on microfinance social efficiency: A robust nonparametric approach," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 295(2), pages 744-757.
    2. Bouslah, Kais & Li, Qian (Jan) & Mobarek, Asma, 2025. "Female directors and social responsibility of microfinance institutions," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    3. Moez Bennouri & Anastasia Cozarenco & Samuel Anokye Nyarko, 2024. "Women on Boards and Performance Trade-offs in Social Enterprises: Insights from Microfinance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 190(1), pages 165-198, February.
    4. Md Imran Hossain & Md Aslam Mia & Lucia Dalla Pellegrina, 2024. "A systematic review of gender diversity and its impact on the performance of Microfinance Institutions," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 10(1), pages 1-23, December.
    5. Fall, François Seck & Tchakoute Tchuigoua, Hubert & Vanhems, Anne & Simar, Léopold, 2022. "Investigating the unobserved heterogeneity effect on microfinance social efficiency," LIDAM Discussion Papers ISBA 2022010, Université catholique de Louvain, Institute of Statistics, Biostatistics and Actuarial Sciences (ISBA).
    6. Hermes, Cornelis & Hudon, M., 2018. "Determinants of the Performance of Microfinance Institutions: A Systematic Review," Research Report 2018008, University of Groningen, Research Institute SOM (Systems, Organisations and Management).
    7. F. S. Fall & H. Tchakoute Tchuigoua & A. Vanhems & L. Simar, 2023. "Investigating the unobserved heterogeneity effect on outreach to women: lessons from microfinance institutions," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 328(2), pages 1365-1386, September.
    8. Niels Hermes & Marek Hudon, 2018. "Determinants Of The Performance Of Microfinance Institutions: A Systematic Review," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(5), pages 1483-1513, December.
    9. Nawaz, Ahmad & Iqbal, Sana, 2015. "Does Social Performance Drives Corporate Governance Mechanism in MFIs? An Issue of Endogeneity," MPRA Paper 65312, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Ahmad Nawaz & Sana Iqbal & Sadaf Ehsan, 2018. "Does Social Performance Drive Corporate Governance Mechanism In Case of Asian MFIs? An Issue of Endogeneity," Global Business Review, International Management Institute, vol. 19(4), pages 988-1012, August.
    11. Daraio, Cinzia & Simar, Léopold & Wilson, Paul W., 2021. "Quality as a latent heterogeneity factor in the efficiency of universities," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    12. Kwame Ohene Djan & Samuel Anokye Nyarko & Roy Mersland & Leif Atle Beisland & Linda Nakato, 2023. "Influence of international ownership on the performance of local social enterprises: Evidence from the global microfinance industry," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/371350, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    13. Nawaz, Ahmad & Iqbal, Sana, 2015. "Financial Performance And Corporate Governance In Microfinance: Who Drives Who? An Evidence From Asia," MPRA Paper 65327, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Iqbal, Sana & Nawaz, Ahmad & Ehsan, Sadaf, 2019. "Financial performance and corporate governance in microfinance: Evidence from Asia," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 1-13.
    15. Périlleux, Anaïs & Szafarz, Ariane, 2015. "Women Leaders and Social Performance: Evidence from Financial Cooperatives in Senegal," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 437-452.
    16. Bibi, Uzma & Balli, Hatice Ozer & Matthews, Claire D. & Tripe, David W.L., 2018. "Impact of gender and governance on microfinance efficiency," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 307-319.
    17. Amir Moradi-Motlagh & Ali Emrouznejad, 2022. "The origins and development of statistical approaches in non-parametric frontier models: a survey of the first two decades of scholarly literature (1998–2020)," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 318(1), pages 713-741, November.
    18. Mori, Neema & Mersland, Roy, 2014. "Boards in microfinance institutions: how do stakeholders matter?," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 18(1), pages 285-313.
    19. Fall, François Seck & Tchakoute Tchuigoua, Hubert & Vanhems, Anne & Simar, Léopold, 2024. "A panel analysis of microfinance efficiency measures: Evidence on the effects of unobserved managerial ability," LIDAM Discussion Papers ISBA 2024020, Université catholique de Louvain, Institute of Statistics, Biostatistics and Actuarial Sciences (ISBA).
    20. Cordero, Jose Manuel & Polo, Cristina & Simancas, Rosa, 2022. "Assessing the efficiency of secondary schools: Evidence from OECD countries participating in PISA 2015," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • C14 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Semiparametric and Nonparametric Methods: General
    • C13 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Estimation: General
    • C33 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models
    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • O47 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Empirical Studies of Economic Growth; Aggregate Productivity; Cross-Country Output Convergence

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:aiz:louvad:2025019. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Nadja Peiffer (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/isuclbe.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.