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Transparency and disclosure in the global microfinance industry: Implications for practice and policy makers

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  • Leif Atle Beisland
  • Roy Mersland

    (UIA - University of Agder)

  • Trond Randøy

Abstract

Over the last couple of decades, the microfinance industry has enjoyed considerable positive public attention; however, more recently, the industry has been criticized for not really “helping the poor” and practicing low standards of transparency. In this chapter we discuss how transparency and disclosure work in relation to the key stakeholders in the microfinance industry: customers, donors, and owners. We provide a framework for assessing the demand for information: the need for transparency—and the corresponding supply of information: what is disclosed. We highlight current, or potential, market failures and their implication for public policy among customers, donors, and microbank owners.
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  • Leif Atle Beisland & Roy Mersland & Trond Randøy, 2014. "Transparency and disclosure in the global microfinance industry: Implications for practice and policy makers," Post-Print hal-05222168, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05222168
    DOI: 10.1093/OXFORDHB/9780199917693.013.0021
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-05222168v1
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