This paper summarizes the findings of research in Bogota, Colombia and Mexico City on the use of financial services by the urban population. The focus is on the majority of persons who have no relation whatever with a formal bank, cooperative or credit union. The paper identifies the...

The idea of microfinance is well known now around the world. It can develop both in poor countries and in highly developed ones. Microfinance aims to reach two basic goals: to stimulate the borrowers in order to trigger activities that would generate income and to reach social objectives which...

We review research on the impact of immigration on income distribution, surveying studies from a variety of countries. Immigration may affect the skill composition of a country's residents and also, by changing relative factor supplies, its relative factor prices. As background, we provide...

This study determines that the decisions to use nonbank financial services and to have a bank account are made jointly by immigrant and native born families. Immigrant families, especially those from Mexico or other Latin American countries, have a higher probability of using nonbank financial...