Replaced with revised version of paper 07/27/04.

This paper posits that deforestation and poverty levels are related through an inverted-U shape --the environmental Kuznets-- curve and that access to credit shifts this curve downwards, thus positively impacting natural resource uses. This hypothesis is tested using a household panel data set...

Over the past decade, the repressive legal and regulatory environment in transition economies has received considerable attention in the literature. In Russia, this framework has resulted in an environment in which rules and regulations govern almost all aspects of economic activity. The...

A competing risks model is implemented to establish the influence of cash flow-based counseling on mortgage loan repayment by rural and urban low-income households. Data from 405 counseled and non-counseled clients are used to test hypotheses about the effectiveness of counseling, duration of...

This paper evaluates the efficacy of two alternative lending technologies - the traditional banking technology and a cash flow based counseling program - by using competing risks (option-based) and choice theoretic approaches. We find evidence to support the notion that low-income borrowers have...

Innovations in lending technologies and market saturation have made La Paz, Bolivia one of the most rapidly changing and competitive microfinance markets in the world. Two lenders stand out: the pioneer BancoSol, which first profitably expanded the loan market with group liability loans, and the...

Interest rates on formal agncultural loans m most low income countries are less than rates of inflation and below rates charged on commercial loans. Many development economists have criticized cheap credit because they felt it induced farmers to use too much capital (such as tractors) at the...

This paper presents and interprets descriptive statistics generated from data obtained in a survey of clients of five microfinance organizations believed to be among the best in Bolivia. These lenders represent different combinations of organizational design, lending technology, and market area...

This paper focuses on the difficulties inherent in the prudent management of growth of microfinance organizations and on potential limits to the increased efficiency, profitability, and sustainability expected from growth and large size. The paper addresses both positive and negative...

This report provides a preliminary quantitative analysis of the financial results of five organizations which are clients of FondoMicro. It also includes a qualitative assessment of the long-run vision held by these institutions' managers and of the organizations' ability to allow a...