This paper studies the relationship between a microfinance institution and its credit officers when the latter are biased against a subgroup of the clientele. Using survey data from Uganda, we provide evidence that credit officers are more biased against disabled borrowers than other employees....

This paper studies how high-powered incentives may affect credit officers’ discriminatory practices in microfinance institutions. Using an agency model applied to a non-profit MFI, we argue that incentive contracts may help align the officer’s behavior with the MFI’s mission. However,...

The success of microfinance rests upon product simplicity, standardization, and the capacity to stimulate client discipline. However, poor people desperately need flexible financial products to improve their day-to-day money management and cope with shocks. This paper discusses how microfinance...

This paper studies labour market discriminations as an agency problem. It sets up a principal-agent model of a firm, where the manager is a taste discriminator and has to make unobservable hiring decisions that determine the shareholder’s profits because workers differ in skills. The paper...

In a context where MIVs face several bottlenecks regarding their future role in the microfinance industry, this paper suggests a brand new way of reviewing their commitment to double bottom line returns. We suggest using the MACBETH (Measuring Attractiveness by a Categorical Based Evaluation...

As part of the tremendous development experienced by microfinance over the last few years, one type of institution has not generated all the attention that it could :credit unions. This can be explained by the frequent corporate governance weaknesses of this type of institution, which have been...

This study uses a unique, hand-collected sample of microfinance institutions from 73 countries that typically are not investigated in accounting research to analyze the relationships between audit quality and governance mechanisms. We examine two measures of audit quality, namely, the use of Big...

This study uses a unique, hand-collected sample of microfinance institutions from 73 developing countries to analyze the relationships between audit quality and governance mechanisms. We examine two measures of audit quality, namely, the use of Big Four auditors and the presence of internal...

Using data from 319 microfinance institutions (MFIs) in 68 developing countries, we study the degree to which international debt investments are related to the financial and social performances of MFIs. We find that commercial investments are mainly related to financial performance and level of...

In countries with weak institutions board governance becomes more important. This study uses a unique dataset from listed Sub-Saharan African companies to examine the relationship between ownership composition and board compensation. It further analyses the association between board compensation...