Product Description

The microfinance revolution, begun with independent initiatives in Latin America and South Asia starting in the 1970s, has so far allowed 65 million poor people around the world to receive small loans without collateral, build up assets, and buy insurance. This comprehensive survey of microfinance seeks to bridge the gap in the existing literature on microfinance between academic economists and practitioners. Both authors have pursued the subject not only in academia but in the field; Beatriz Armendáriz founded a microfinance bank in Chiapas, Mexico, and Jonathan Morduch has done fieldwork in Bangladesh, China, and Indonesia.

The book provides an overview of microfinance by addressing a range of issues, including lessons from informal markets, savings and insurance, the role of women, the place of subsidies, impact measurement, and management incentives. It integrates theory with empirical data, citing studies from Asia, Africa, and Latin America and introducing ideas about asymmetric information, principal-agent theory, and household decision making in the context of microfinance.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #41635 in Books
• Published on: 2007-09-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 360 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780262512015
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
"A great place to learn how and why microfinance really works, and where it hits its limits. The book, written by two leading young economists, brims with new evidence and provides fresh perspectives on old debates. Clearly written and sharply argued, it revisits and transforms important ideas about poverty reduction, finance, and incentives. The authors describe what we know and what we need to know in order to move forward."
—Joseph E. Stiglitz, Professor of Economics and Finance, Columbia University, Nobel Laureate in Economics (2001)

"An excellent analysis of the evolution of microfinance and of the economic theory behind it."
— Huw Dixon, Times Higher Education Supplement

"Microfinance is playing a key role in the economies of many developing countries, providing small-scale entrepreneurs with the access to financing that is so often unavailable from commercial and state banks. This book provides an accessible, analytical roadmap for understanding this important trend. The authors tackle central debates and provide new evidence, giving readers tools to create future innovations."
—George Soros, Founder and Chairman, Open Society Institute

"The microfinance movement is bringing hope, prosperity, and progress to many of the poorest people in the world. It is necessary to use critical economic reasoning to understand why the movement is such a success and how its exact achievements can be assessed and scrutinized. This book is a splendid contribution to that goal, and will be a great help to students, teachers, and practitioners in economics and the social sciences."
—Amartya Sen, Lamont University Professor, Harvard University, Nobel Laureate in Economics (1998)

"The promotion of microfinance is one of the most significant innovations in development policy of the past twenty-five years. This timely book provides a guide to its main ideas and reviews the evidence in a way that is both accessible and rigorous. It will be a valuable resource for students, researchers, and practitioners."
—Timothy Besley, Professor of Economics and Political Science, London School of Economics and Political Science

"The single best book on the economics of banking and finance, period, and certainly the most encompassing book I have read on microfinance. My copy is covered in notes and dog-eared from use."
—Thomas Easton, New York Bureau Chief, The Economist

"This is an important book by two of the leading economists in microfinance, detailing what we know and don't know about the subject. It is an accessible book laden with examples, but it doesn't sacrifice intellectual rigor. It should be of great interest to students, researchers, and practitioners with an analytical bent."
—Raghuram G. Rajan, University of Chicago and the International Monetary Fund

About the Author
Beatriz Armendáriz is a Lecturer in Economics in the Department of Economics at Harvard University, a Senior Lecturer on leave from University College London, and coeditor of The Microfinance Handbook.

Jonathan Morduch is Professor of Public Policy and Economics at New York University's Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. He is a coauthor of Portfolios of the Poor: How the World's Poor Live on $2 a Day.

Customer Reviews

Essential reading for development economists
Microfinance has become one of the most important mechanisms for the development of informal business in developing economies. As such, it has attracted attention from development practitioners, economists and politicians. Disappointingly, most books on the subject can be best described as infomercials - rarely do they go beyond success stories of happy women in brightly coloured clothes who are now running home enterprises. But practitioners know that there is far more to microfinance than simply providing loans - just as there is far more to development than simply pouring money into a country. There are pitfalls to microfinance: it can crowd out local business, it can catapult poor people further into poverty if incorrectly adminstered, and there are a host of governance issues surrounding it.

This book provides a comprehensive analysis of the economics of microfinance, as the title suggests. It is a technical book: it expects a high level of economic understanding, but it synthesises a vast amount of information on the subject and communicates it succintly. This is without a doubt one of the best technical economics books I have read - and I have read an awful lot of them.

I've given this book to my PhD students working in this area as essential background reading before they commence research. I commend this book to any economist or development practitioner who is interested in the economics behind the stories and photos, who want to find solutions that will really catalyse economic development, who want to see successful projects implemented and who want to learn from the expertise of others to make sure they do the best for their clients.

Microfinance at its finest
Microfinance is one of the newest strategies for development and Princeton economist Morduch takes a look at how it impacts societies. While he only looks briefly at the social issues he makes several compelling economic arguments for why we should consider microfinance as a viable option. The book is very well written although I think it does leave out some of the long term structural and institutional changes that need to be addressed. This is a field where new research comes out every day but Morduch's book is likely to be a staple for a very long time. This is a must have for anyone studying microfinance and will be for a long time to come.

An eye opener
To those that, as i am, have an Economics background and are just grasping the all immense universe that microfinance is becoming, this book opens perspectives and clears some very important issues. Issues such as the value of interest charging or the many different ways there actually are to build a microfinance initiative or the value of professional dedication to make it an effective and efficient working and sustainable intervention ... A must have!