This paper examines the welfare and distributional implications of microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Bangladesh in a general equilibrium framework. The major findings are that MFIs raise income and consumption levels of households, reduce income inequality and enhance welfare. This implies...

This paper employs a utility maximizing model to answer two questions: (i) what are the cost-related factors that determine the supply of a loan by traditional banks and microfinance institutions (MFIs)?; and (ii) why is the supply of micro loan zero under a bank¡¯s maximization problem while...