The turbulent 1830s saw a sequence of great political and social reforms in the UK. One such reform was the introduction of a locally funded poor law in Ireland. The development of a nascent welfare system in 1838 coincided with a boom in the formation of microfinance institutions in Ireland....

In the decade before the Great Famine, Ireland experienced a boom in microfinance institutions (MFIs). Taking a social enterprise perspective, this paper analyses the institutional context for this boom. It finds evidence linking the boom in MFIs to the development, via the introduction of the...

The objective of the present study is to examine whether household access to microfinance reduces poverty. Using national household data from India, treatment effects model is employed to estimate the poverty-reducing effects of MFIs loans for productive purposes, such as investment in...

In the decade before the famine, Ireland experienced a boom in Microfinance Institutions (MFIs). This paper analyses the motivations of MFI proponents and practitioners, and finds evidence linking the boom in MFIs with the introduction of the poor law in 1838. Many contemporary writers saw...

Numerous microfinance initiatives around the world aim to alleviate poverty in developing countries. However, debate persists about their effectiveness and sustainability – a concern for transnational corporations and the international business community, which contribute about $9.4 billion to...

The financial inclusion programs must be continuously stimulated in order to accelerate the expansion of access to financial services for disadvantaged societies and micro and small enterprises. Various micro-credit programs launched within the last two decades appeared to be not optimum, as...

This paper aims to evaluate the impact of a microlending program on ameliorating measured poverty within its client population, with the aim of improving that impact. We analyze over 18,000 women micro-finance clients of the Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation (NWTF), a database using the...

We review the empirical evidence on the impact of microcredit on poverty in Bangladesh. Drawing on evidence from seven empirical studies with 306 estimates, we examine the impact of microcredit on three proxies of poverty - income, assets and consumption/expenditure. After addressing issues of...

This paper presents the findings from a qualitative-explorative longitudinal impact assessment of an enhanced credit life microinsurance pilot in Indonesia. Different from the practical or econometric-quantitative approaches of the few microinsurance impact assessments available today, the...