Policymakers in Latin America increasingly are turning to policies that have high economic rates of return and a favorable impact on income distribution. By providing financial services to small businesses and poor households -which normally lack such services- credit unions help secure growth...

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.

This paper analyzes the current practices of four leading Latin American Village Banking programs (VBIs): FINCA Nicaragua, Pro Mujer Bolivia, Compartamos (in Mexico), and CRECER (in Bolivia). By making a detailed examination and analysis of the major aspects of the village banking methodology...

This paper discusses microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the Caribbean. It argues that the reason they have lagged is fundamentally explained by factors internal to the MFIs, rather than external to them. The paper introduces four Caribbean MFIs, two with track records of low loan delinquency...

This paper examines each major element of the village banking technology and how it has been liberalized so far, particularly in four leading Latin American village banking institutions: FINCA Nicaragua, Pro Mujer Bolivia, Compartamos (in Mexico), and CRECER (in Bolivia). It then analyzes how...

En este documento, se abordan cómo se puede desarrollar más el sector micro financiero de un país y qué impacto podría tener esto en la distribución del ingreso de dicho país. Recopila argumentos y datos sustanciales para respaldar el punto de vista de que al mejorar el acceso de las...

This paper marshals substantial arguments and data to support the contention that improving the access of micro and small enterprises to financial services could have an important salutary impact on a country's income distribution. To demonstrate this, the paper shows first that many poor own or...

The purpose of this document is to define and discuss a minimum set of core project monitoring and evaluation indicators that should be collected in all or nearly all projects approved under the IDB's Social Entrepreneurship Program (SEP). The document is aimed at those IDB and counterpart...

El objetivo de este documento es definir y tratar un conjunto mínimo de indicadores básicos de monitoreo y evaluación de proyectos que se deben recoger en todos o casi todos los proyectos aprobados en el marco del Programa de Empresariado Social (PES) del BID. El documento está dirigido al...

Las instituciones de microfinanzas se enfrentan ante varias opciones cuando tienen que decidir cuál es la mejor manera de financiarse: emitir acciones, emitir bonos, obtener préstamos comerciales o concesionales y movilizar ahorros. En este estudio se exploran las tendencias, los costos y...