This paper presents a conceptual framework for explaining Credit Unions (CUs) loan delinquency and profitability in developing countries. It also offers an empirical estimation for a unique sample of CUs in Latin America.

The objective of this paper is to evaluate the impact of micro-entrepreneurs income on two Brazilian and Chilean microcredit programs. Drawing on two unique sources of data, control groups are built using the propensity score to match beneficiaries of micro-credit programs with non-beneficiaries...

This paper analyzes the effectiveness of public credit lines in promoting the performances of Brazilian firms. We focus on the impact of the credit lines managed by BNDES and FINEP in fostering growth measured in terms of employment, labor productivity and export. For this purpose, we use a...

This is the latest version available of "Do We Know What Works": A Systematic Review of Impact Evaluations of Social Programs in Latin America and the Caribbean¿. The document reviews social programs placing emphasis on extracting lessons from those that have been evaluated in order to assess...

This paper presents the results of an investigation requested by the Multilateral Investment Fund of the Inter-American Development Bank under its Caribbean Microfinance Capacity Building project (CARIB-CAP) to strengthen microfinance in the English-speaking Caribbean. With the financial support...

Microfinance institutions (MFIs) have been successful in providing credit to millions of low-income borrowers in groups previously excluded from formal financial services, but they often charge interest rates that many claim are excessive. We examine microfinance interest rates and their...

Using borrower-level data from FINCA, one of Peru's leading microfinance institutions (MFIs), this paper evaluates the effect on borrowers' access to credit of FINCA's decision to share information on individual outstanding debt records (positive information) as well as group default records...

This paper studies three horizontal policy instruments and two vertical ones in Chilean industrial policy, particularly regarding small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The horizontal instruments are (1) a guarantee program for borrowing by SMEs (FOGAPE), (2) a small subsidy to new exports that...

In this paper we use Colombian manufacturing data on exports and external financing for the period 1998 - 2006 to estimate the credit elasticity of exports. We use bank-firm linked data to construct a supply side instrument for a manufacturer's demand of credit, which we use to address the...

This paper reviews empirical evidence on the impact of creditor rights regulations on credit market breadth and the credit cycle. It confirms results that were questioned regarding the impact of creditor rights regulations on the size of credit markets, and shows that the degree to which...