This study examines the effect of a one-on-one outsourced pre-lending consulting service on the repayment behavior of microcredit borrowers in Korea with administrative data from the Smile Microcredit Bank. A random change in the cut-off loan amount for mandatory consulting is utilized as an...

The paper builds up on the body of the international research of the issue of microcredit to outline the possible policy scenarios and business strategies for the Russian market.Russia has recently witnessed the rapid change of political and regulatory attitude towards the microcrediting. As...

Over the past two decades, institutions that make micro loans to low-income borrowers in developing and transition economies have focused increasingly on making their operations financially sustainable by charging interest rates that are high enough to cover all their costs. They argue that...

Global differences in microcredit interest rates are dramatic. The global average is about 35 percent, but the average in Uzbekistan is above 80 percent, and in Sri Lanka it is around 17 percent. Small loan sizes are the most commonly cited reason why microcredit rates are higher than normal...