This paper describes a statistical sample design to measure portfolio- at-risk in microfinance. It applies the design to the microfinance portfolio of Banco do Nordeste in Brazil. Statistical audit sampling requires no special knowledge of statistics and is useful for due- diligence inspections...

In developing countries, microfinance has been the darling of the development community, and in developed countries, microfinance fits well with Third Ways ideas. What are the challenges and opportunities for the attempt to replicate microfinance in the United States? This paper attempts to...

Microenterprise programs attempt to help poor people start or strengthen small businesses. Funding and political support has grown rapidly. Is microenterprise a good use of scarce development funds? Unfortunately, most evaluations have been case studies in what not to do. Because benefits and...

Wide agreement about the goal of microfinance--to improve the welfare of the poor--has not led to wide agreement about how best to achieve that goal. To aid discussion, I propose a framework for outreach--the social benefits of microfinance--in terms of six aspects: worth, cost, depth, breadth,...

Attempts to gauge the depth of outreach of microfinance organizations usually start--and often end--with the measurement of loan size. But just what is loan size? Loan size has at least seven aspects, each of which matters not only for depth of outreach but also for profitability. The aspects...

Microfinance—both credit and savings—has potential to improve the well- being of poor women in developing countries. This paper explores practical ways to achieve that potential. Based on lessons from informal saving mechanisms that women already use, the paper proposes two savings services...