2009-06-03 papers

on Microfinance

Issue of 2009‒06‒03
two papers chosen by
Aastha Pudasainee and Olivier Dagnelie

Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) on the Remittances Market: Money Transfer Activity and Savings Mobilisation. By Ritha Sukadi
La dimensión ética de las microfinanzas By Argandoña, Antonio

Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) on the Remittances Market: Money Transfer Activity and Savings Mobilisation.

By:	Ritha Sukadi (Centre Emile Bernheim, CERMi, Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels.)
Abstract:	This paper is a first attempt to empirically measure the impact of a money transfer activity on MFIs’ savings mobilisation. After analysing the opportunities for MFIs to succeed in transforming remittances receivers into clients, the paper empirically tests whether MFIs operating on the remittances market have a significantly higher level of savings than others, thanks to their money transfer activity. After building our variable of interest (a dummy for the money transfer activity) based on the Mixmarket website (for the regions of Latin America and the Caribbean, East Asia and the Pacific, South Asia and Africa), we run a cross-section regression for the year 2006 between the “savings over assets” ratio as explained variable and a set of explaining variables, including our variable of interest. We find a positive and significant coefficient for the money transfer activity dummy.
Keywords:	savings, migrants’ savings, remittances, microfinance institutions (MFIs), money transfer activity.
JEL:	G21 O15 O16 O17
Date:	2009–05
URL:	http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sol:wpaper:09-022&r=mfd

La dimensión ética de las microfinanzas

By:	Argandoña, Antonio (IESE Business School)
Abstract:	Las microfinanzas han conocido un notable desarrollo en los últimos años, presentándose como un instrumento eficaz para la promoción de las personas y la solución de los problemas del subdesarrollo. Consisten en la concesión de créditos de pequeña cuantía en condiciones muy adaptadas a las necesidades de emprendedores que carecen de patrimonio con el que garantizar el préstamo recibido. Abundan los trabajos sobre las microfinanzas, pero la dimensión ética de las mismas ha sido mucho menos estudiada. Este trabajo tiene por objeto presentar los caracteres económicos, sociales, políticos y humanos de las microfinanzas, con especial énfasis en los problemas éticos que originan y en la responsabilidad social de las instituciones que las ofrecen.
Keywords:	ética; función social; microcrédito; microfinanzas; micropréstamo; responsabilidad social corporativa; sostenibilidad financiera;
Date:	2009–04–23
URL:	http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ebg:iesewp:d-0791&r=mfd

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