Cooperatively-owned Raiffeisen banks first emerged in the Netherlands in the late 1890s and spread rapidly across the country. Using a new dataset, we investigate the determinants of their market entry and early performance. We find that the cooperative organisational form, when allied to a...

This paper evaluates the impact of the Thailand Village and Urban Revolving Fund on household expenditure, income, and assets. The revolving fund was launched in 2001 when the Government of Thailand promised to provide a million baht (about $22,500) to every village and urban community in...

The reform of the Rural Credit Unions (RCUs) currently faces a number of major inter-related challenges. These must be resolved if China is to create a 'modern rural financial system'. The key issues facing policy-makers are: Consolidating independent shareholder ownership in order to realize...