There is debate about measurement of impact and achievement of expected results of rural microfinance programs in LDCs. The paper addresses these issues using survey household data from Bolivia. Regression models examine the determinants of education outcomes for microfinance clients. The...

In this paper, we examine the contract design problem of banks that extend loans to poor borrowers and seek to maximize outreach while remaining financially sustainable. A dynamic model is developed that shows how interest rates can be determined based on information about productivity and...

Data collected in surveys of more than 700 Salvadoran households carried out in 1996 and 1998 are used in an econometric analysis of linkages between land and labor use. Particular emphasis is offered on how poor households allocated labor resources in response to the El Nino weather phenomenon...

A major accomplishment of development finance in recent years has been the expansion of the supply of financial services for the poor. Little information exists, however, about the extent to which microfinance actually reaches the poor. This study analyzed a sample of clients served by five...

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...

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...

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...