This paper evaluates the effectiveness of several governance mechanisms on microfinance institutions' (MFI) performance. We first define performance as efficiency in reaching many poor clients. Following the literature on efficiency in banks, we estimate a stochastic cost frontier and measure...

Abstract: It is by now commonly understood that healthy banking systems require not only more insightful regulation and supervision but a new emphasis on market discipline. In this regard a rapidly growing body of research has focused on both measures internal to the firm the bank –...

Examines the impacts of organizational governance on the outreach capabilities and sustainability of microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Central and Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States. Microfinance institutions are NGOs, banks, credit cooperatives, or nonbank financial institutions...

This paper presents the first evidence on the impact of external governance mechanisms, board diversity and independence, and management compensation on outreach and sustainability of microfinance institutions in Central and Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States. Results indicate that...

Published research on credit counseling and mortgage termination is surprisingly scarce, despite substantial growth in this industry. While the purpose of counseling is to assist low-income borrowers to improve their handling of debt and thereby reduce default, counseling may also improve the...

The costs and benefits of subsidized microfinance are still a controversial topic. We evaluate how subsidies affect the cost-efficiency of microfinance institutions (MFIs). At the same time, we account for endogenous self-selection into the business models of credit-only versus...

An empirical neoclassical growth model reveals that foreign investment incrementally contributed to the economic transition of 27 countries in Central and Eastern Europe during the transition period 1989 to 2003. The model departs from the theoretical and applied growth literatures by estimating...