Two thirds of the Fund?s current projects have a rural finance component; about 21% of the Fund?s resources are dedicated to rural finance.2 Most of IFAD?s target group are small producers engaged in agric ultural and non-agricultural activities in areas of widely varying potential. Direct...

Despite the rise in recent decades in the average income level, economic insecurity has also increased. True for both developing and developed countries, this increasing economic insecurity is harmful for human welfare for several reasons. Job and income insecurity directly affect the material...

Two thirds of the Fund's current projects have a rural finance component; about 21% of the Fund's resources are dedicated to rural finance.2 Most of IFAD's target group are small producers engaged in agric ultural and non-agricultural activities in areas of widely varying potential. Direct...

This paper analyses the long-term effects of improved small-scale lending, often provided by microfinance institutions set up with the support of development aid. The analysis shows that some common assumptions about microfinance are not true at all: First, it shows that the impact on income...