While in less developed and in transition economies microlending has become an efficient instrument for providing small and micro businesses with the necessary financial means, in industrialized countries, with highly developed banking systems, the existence and size of an uncovered demand for...

In this paper we investigate the status quo of regulation for Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) inGermany. A short presentation of the legal framework is followed by a detailed account of thepractical implications for the lending design that MFIs face. Five different models of loan extensionare...

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...

While in less developed and in transition economies microlending has become an efficient instrument for providing small and micro businesses with the necessary financial means, in industrialized countries, with highly developed banking systems, the existence and size of an uncovered demand for...

A lack of financial means is viewed as a key reason why small businesses fail. Therefore, also in Germany several institutions tried to establish microloans as a financing tool. A first empirical study, building a benchmark for similar studies in Western Europe, shows that about 15 percent of...

In developing and transition economies, microlending has become an effective instrument for providing micro businesses with the necessary financial resources to launch operations. In the industrialized countries, with their highly developed banking systems, however, there has been ongoing debate...

In developing and transition economies, microlending has become an effective instrument for providing micro businesses with the necessary financial resources to launch operations. In the industrialized countries, with their highly developed banking systems, however, there has been ongoing debate...