Competing in the world economy does not automatically boost a nation's productivity and restructure its economy. Such progress requires mobilizing capital, employment, technology and knowledge. Opportunities beyond the business realm must be fully exploited to the benfit of society as a whole....

The objective of this paper is to provide a regional overview of financial regulations in Latin America and the Caribbean which have the potential of constituting important obstacles to microfinance. The study attempts to identify the regulations and restrictions which may be inappropriate or...

This paper proposes a conceptual framework for understanding and analyzing how business regulations affect small and microenterprises. In doing so, it also makes a case for why particular attention should be paid to the process of initial registration of businesses and why this is a promising...

This publication aims to help donors, creditors and investors evaluate the performance, condition and risk of individual microfinance institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean, in hopes of strengthening the microfinance industry and building the microenterprise sector. It provides concrete...

El propósito de este documento es proponer una definición estándar para cada uno de los términos financieros seleccionados y plantear un método común de cálculo para determinados coeficientes financieros. Fue producido en colaboración entre el Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo (BID) y...

This paper aims to reveal some basic trends in the financing of microfinance institutions, such as where the financing comes from, and how the distribution changes over time. The paper does not claim to be a comprehensive review of this topic, but it offers some new information and points to...

El objetivo de este documento es mostrar las tendencias en el financiamiento de las instituciones microfinancieras, de dónde vienen y cómo cambian en el tiempo. El documento no pretende ser una revisión de este tema, pero ofrece nueva información y apunta a algunos patrones hasta ahora no...

Los indicadores incluidos en la presente Guía corresponden a una de las cuatro categorías principales: calidad de la cartera, eficiencia y productividad, gestión financiera y rentabilidad. Esta guía no pretende abarcar la totalidad de los indicadores, sino los más importantes que, tomados...

This technical guide highlights 14 of the most commonly used indicators published by the Roundtable Group and illustrates how they are used. It provides some explanation and analysis of the indicators for those who are interested in understanding their application as well as weaknesses. For each...

This paper presents a synopsis of the current state of the microfinance industry in Latin America. It provides a rough assessment of the achievement and outreach of the industry; it offers revealing information on the financial performance of 20 microfinance institutions; and it outlines some of...