In this paper we empirically examine the impact of competition between Microfinance Institutions(MFIs) on the efficacy of loan contracts when the MFIs make use of joint liability loan contracts. Morespecifically, we aim to find out whether competition will reduce the power of the self-selection...

In this paper we investigate whether self-employed households use consumer loans tofinance their business activities. In particular, it is shown that self-employed householdsuse personal overdrafts significantly more often than employee households do. Thisdifference remains when controlling for...

We assess the experiences of Eastern European Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in order to deriverecommendations for their Western European counterparts. In particular, six dimensions arediscussed: (1) building a supportive stakeholder environment, (2) defining a marketing strategy, (3)using...