The rapid adoption of mobile money transfer (MMT) in East Africa, and Kenya in particular, is facilitating a nexus of inter-personal financial transfers which has hitherto been the least visible dimension of informal finance. At the same time, the success of capturing these flows into a formal...

Policy emphasis for financial sector development has shifted away from microfinance and towards the development of ‘inclusive financial markets’. But for inclusion to take place, policy must address barriers to access. This paper analyses the socio-economic, demographic and geographic...

While the scale of informal finance in many developing countries has long been known to be extensive, data at the national level and particularly in Africa has been scarce. Moreover, financial sector development policy has firmly shifted its attention away from informal finance and towards...

Policy emphasis has recently shifted to ‘Finance for All’ given evidence that financial sector development (FSD) contributes to growth but that the primary effects on poverty do not arise from pro-poor provision. This paper uses data from Financial Access Surveys carried out in 2006 in Kenya...

The best of all possible worlds -- The key to all things -- Blurry vision -- Economism and economics -- Ideas in the world -- The magic of the marketplace -- The long march of economism -- Ideas and interests -- Pioneers -- Industrialists -- Promoters -- Politicians -- The problem with a price...