Thursday, August 6, 2009

Macro Evidence for Micro Finance?

One of the key problems in determining the effectiveness of microfinance is this: there are many studies which show it works on the individual case level, but few which do so in aggregate...

This economist article demonstrates the point well. In other words, we know that microfinance, done properly, can improve the lives of the working poor, but can it do more than that? Can it fight poverty in a sustained way?