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Are Financial and Social Efficiency Mutually Exclusive? A Case Study of Vietnamese Microfinance Institutions

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  • Maxime Lebovics
  • Niels Hermes
  • Marek Hudon

Abstract

A major debate in microfinance focuses on the existence of a trade-off between the financial sustainability of microfinance institutions (MFIs) and their outreach to poor clients. This paper adds to this debate by analyzing whether financial and social efficiency are mutually exclusive in a context of implicit subsidies by the state and international donors. We use data from a sample of 28 Vietnamese MFIs and apply Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to identify the existence of a trade-off. Our analysis shows that for Vietnamese MFIs financial and social efficiency are not related. We interpret this as evidence for the fact that there is no support to believe that there is such a trade-off. Subsidies, based on which most Vietnamese MFIs currently operate, helps them to show high financial efficiency, while at the same time being able to attain their social goals. Nevertheless, this model may not be sustainable in the long-term.

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  • Maxime Lebovics & Niels Hermes & Marek Hudon, 2014. "Are Financial and Social Efficiency Mutually Exclusive? A Case Study of Vietnamese Microfinance Institutions," Working Papers CEB 14-009, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    • Handle: RePEc:sol:wpaper:2013/161156
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    3. Swati Chauhan, 2021. "Social and Financial Efficiency: A Study of Indian Microfinance Institutions," IIM Kozhikode Society & Management Review, , vol. 10(1), pages 31-43, January.
    4. Thang T. Vo, 2018. "Social capital and household vulnerability: New evidence from rural Vienam," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2018-167, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    5. Li, Lin Yang & Hermes, Niels & Meesters, Aljar, 2019. "Convergence of the performance of microfinance institutions: A decomposition analysis," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 308-324.
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    7. Anirban Pal & Piyush Kumar Singh, 2021. "Do socially motivated self‐help groups perform better? Exploring determinants of micro‐credit groups’ performance in Eastern India," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 92(1), pages 119-146, March.
    8. Baohong Li & Yingdong Huo & Shi Yin, 2022. "Sustainable Financing Efficiency and Environmental Value in China’s Energy Conservation and Environmental Protection Industry under the Double Carbon Target," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-25, August.
    9. Wijesiri, Mahinda & Yaron, Jacob & Meoli, Michele, 2015. "Performance of microfinance institutions in achieving the poverty outreach and financial sustainability: When age and size matter?," MPRA Paper 69821, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Hafezali Iqbal Hussain & Katarzyna Szczepanska-Woszczyna & Fakarudin Kamarudin & Nazratul Aina Mohamad Anwar & Mohd Haizam Mohd Saudi, 2021. "Unboxing the black box on the dimensions of social globalisation and the efficiency of microfinance institutions in Asia," Oeconomia Copernicana, Institute of Economic Research, vol. 12(3), pages 557-592, September.
    11. Arpita Sharma & Shailesh Rastogi, 2021. "Impact of Efficiency on Voluntary Disclosure of Non-Banking Financial Company—Microfinance Institutions in India," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-21, June.
    12. Leire San-Jose & Jose Luis Retolaza & Eric Lamarque, 2018. "The Social Efficiency for Sustainability: European Cooperative Banking Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-21, September.
    13. Efendic Velid & Hadziahmetovic Nejra, 2017. "The social and financial efficiency of microfinance institutions: the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina," South East European Journal of Economics and Business, Sciendo, vol. 12(2), pages 85-101, December.
    14. Wijesiri, Mahinda & Yaron, Jacob & Meoli, Michele, 2017. "Assessing the financial and outreach efficiency of microfinance institutions: Do age and size matter?," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 63-76.
    15. Fall, François & Akim, Al-mouksit & Wassongma, Harouna, 2018. "DEA and SFA research on the efficiency of microfinance institutions: A meta-analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 176-188.
    16. 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.
    17. Wijesiri, Mahinda & Viganò, Laura & Meoli, Michele, 2015. "Efficiency of microfinance institutions in Sri Lanka: a two-stage double bootstrap DEA approach," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 74-83.
    18. Hailu Abebe Wondirad, 2020. "Competition and microfinance institutions’ performance: evidence from India," International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, Springer, vol. 5(1), pages 1-19, December.
    19. Kaffash, Sepideh & Azizi, Roza & Huang, Ying & Zhu, Joe, 2020. "A survey of data envelopment analysis applications in the insurance industry 1993–2018," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 284(3), pages 801-813.
    20. Thang Vo, 2018. "Social capital and household vulnerability: New evidence from rural Vietnam," WIDER Working Paper Series 167, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    21. Md Tariqul Islam, 2022. "Application of Information and Communications Technology in MFIs: Evidence from Bangladesh," International Journal of Management Science and Business Administration, Inovatus Services Ltd., vol. 8(4), pages 37-43, May.
    22. Mahinda Wijesiri & Almudena Martínez-Campillo & Peter Wanke, 2019. "Is there a trade-off between social and financial performance of public commercial banks in India? A multi-activity DEA model with shared inputs and undesirable outputs," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 13(2), pages 417-442, April.
    23. 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).

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