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The global expansion of the microfinance sector demands new conceptual work that recognizes microfinance's simultaneous imbrication in profit-oriented global finance and socially oriented development programs. Drawing from our respective areas of specialization in Latin America and South Asia, and an extensive review of the literature, we posit here that microfinance is best understood as a global industry, with traceable value chains. Microfinancial value chains are vertically organized by hierarchical relations of power, and populated by diverse actors performing various forms of gendered and class-stratified labor. Our conception of microfinance draws attention to the industry's reliance on the devalued labor of women, and the influence of class and geographic divisions on the functioning of microfinancial chains at all levels. Our chain-oriented conceptualization disrupts prevailing paradigms for studying microfinance by allowing us to analyze exactly where, and under what conditions, value is extracted across multiple global sites.

The idea of regulating financial institutions in general and microfinancial organization in particular lies in finding the balance in following the economic interests of all the sides involved. For the individual this implies keeping their well-being while for the state this means to ensure the well-being of all the different strata of the society. One of the functions of the microfinancial organizations is to give small businesses access to legal money for further development. Having said that, ideally microcredits should lead to growth of individual's wealth, growth of the middle class, growth of the income of the region and the country. However, microfinancial organizations historically have been surrounded by a negative image, and malpractices only make it worse for them. By understanding deviant practices and their classification there is space for preventing their spread and for forming an environment that would work for the society development. Literature analysis has shown that there is no common classification, and the result proposes a model that takes into account the specifics of the Russian market and takes into consideration the most of malpractices applied there.

AbstractThis paper reviews the achievements of the 'microfinance revolution', through reference to the now extensive literature. It finds that there are many opportunities to improve and innovate. To illustrate this finding, the paper concentrates on examining what we need to know to design and deliver better financial products to the poor, especially the poorest. It argues that financial services for the poor are essentially a matter of helping the poor turn their savings into sums large enough to satisfy a wide range of business, consumption, personal, social and asset‐building needs. The range of such 'swaps' should be wide enough to cater for short, medium and long‐term needs, and they must be delivered in ways which are convenient, appropriate, safe and affordable. Providing poor people with effective financial services helps them deal with vulnerability and can thereby help reduce poverty. However, the relationship is driven by complex livelihood imperatives and is not simple. Microfinance is not a magic sky‐hook that reaches down to pluck the poor out of poverty. It can, however, be a strategically vital platform that the poor can use to raise their own prospects for an escape from poverty. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The regulation of microfinance institutions is possible through understanding the structure of their work, the typology of possible deviant practices, as well as with an established system of control of each stage of interaction of such organizations with both the state and the client. Understanding how clients interact with microfinance institutions helps to identify problems in controlling their activities, as well as to develop mechanisms to protect the consumer. This research uses automated content analysis to identify key issues faced by clients of microfinance institutions and provides a framework for quickly identifying these issues by analyzing online comments. Rapid response to complaints from microfinance consumers will not only capture the facts of violations, but also help keep up-to-date the patterns of malpractices.

This book contributes to the empirical literature on households' participation in microfinancial services in developing countries. First, it estimates simultaneously the participation in microinsurance schemes and other financial services on household survey data from Ghana. Second, it analyzes the household's cumulative participation in microfinancial services using household survey data from Sri Lanka. Next, the study focuses on the question whether household's participation in micro life insurance in Sri Lanka is motivated by the desire to leave bequests. At last, it investigates different sequential steps of the household's microinsurance participation decision and the joint analysis of micro life and health insurance enrolment in Sri Lanka.

For the past thirty years, policymakers have lauded microfinance for its promises to reduce poverty and empower women in developing nations. First conceived by the Bangladeshi economist Muhammed Yunus and the bank he founded, microfinance has been hailed as a visionary project that promises to advance the economic interests of the poor by engaging them directly. Conventional studies by political scientists explore the place of microfinance in the global development architecture of international financial institutions, governments, and NGOs. Economic studies of its effectiveness are contributing to a crisis of legitimacy since they reveal that thousands of clients in developing nations continue to default on their loans due to predatory lending practices. Drawing on discourse analysis methodology, this article seeks to explain how microfinance, an industry embedded in the financialization of development, is now concerned with high financial returns for investments, not the social goals promised by its original raison d'être. Treating microfinance as a discourse, I argue that there is a fundamental tension between the short-term social goals promised by microfinance and the long-term financial objectives of sustainability of investors.

This book contributes to the empirical literature on households' participation in microfinancial services in developing countries. First, it estimates simultaneously the participation in microinsurance schemes and other financial services on household survey data from Ghana. Second, it analyzes the household's cumulative participation in microfinancial services using household survey data from Sri Lanka. Next, the study focuses on the question whether household's participation in micro life insurance in Sri Lanka is motivated by the desire to leave bequests. At last, it investigates different sequential steps of the household's microinsurance participation decision and the joint analysis of micro life and health insurance enrolment in Sri Lanka.

This study aims at developing a model that would assess women empowerment due to microfinance activities and evaluates the moderating role of self-help group (SHG) membership and family size in women empowerment. Factor analysis and partial least square structural equation modelling are employed to meet the objective of the study. Multigroup analysis is used to assess the moderating role of SHG membership and family size. The data are examined using SPSS 22.0 and SmartPLS 3.3.2 software. Findings reveal that the overall empowerment of women who belong to SHG is more influenced by social empowerment due to microfinance, while non-SHG members who have availed microfinance services feel more empowered due to their economic and psychological empowerment. Women with family size of four or less are more empowered due to their economic and social empowerment, while psychology played a more significant role in women with family size of more than four. The government and microfinance institutions (MFIs) should organise more awareness programmes to help women avail the microfinance services so that the economic activities conducted by them can lift the country's economy. Women should be motivated to joins SHGs to reduce the chances of domestic violence and to increase their social holding.JEL Classification: C380, D140, G210