Uneasy passages between neoliberalism and feminism: Social inclusion and financialization in Israel's empowerment microfinance

This article focuses on feminist non‐governmental organizations advocating for economic empowerment of women (EEW) through microfinance, using Israel as a case study. Through fieldwork, interviews and documents, we investigate the institutional practices, cultural discourses and struggles that EEWs develop in order to expose the particular ways in which feminist organizations interact with the world of finance and state institutions. Our analysis points to the complex power dynamics of mediation, suggesting that there are ‘uneasy passages' between neoliberalism and feminism, ones that help re‐signify the meaning of financial discourses while re‐politicizing women's social and economic exclusions. Simultaneously, however, this relation induces a series of compromises, whereby EEWs adopt neoliberal modes of governance. Rejecting the notion that contemporary feminism has simply been co‐opted by neoliberalism or the perception of EEW microfinance as a mere expansion of neoliberal rationalities, we reveal new sites and ways in which feminism both colludes and collides with neoliberalism.     

小额信贷经理人愿意扶贫吗？——基于西北地区贫困县152位信贷经理人的经验分析

基于西北5省15个国家级贫困县152位信贷经理人的问卷调查,分析了小额信贷经理人的扶贫意愿、行为以及影响因素。经验研究结果表明：在调研的国家级贫困县中,尽管近六成小额信贷经理人向贫困户发放过贷款,但业务量总体较少,具有信贷扶贫意愿的不到2成;性别、教育背景、收入满意度、信贷决策自主性、放贷任务以及是否完成任务对信贷扶贫业务有显著影响;性别和信贷自主权对扶贫意愿具有显著影响。由此,在信贷扶贫项目选择信贷经理人时,采取差异化策略,有序放松信贷自主权,加强扶贫效果考核,对提高金融扶贫绩效会起到积极的作用。     

Innovations to Make Markets More Inclusive for the Poor

Market failures, government failures and some of the characteristics of both the poor and business actors as well as their environment can act as barriers preventing the poor from participating more actively in markets, both as consumers and as producers. Private actors ‐ including for‐profit and not‐for‐profit entities, often in partnership with the public sector ‐ have been able to mitigate some of these constraints through innovations that have helped to make markets more inclusive for the poor, enabling them not just to gain access, but also to participate in ways that enhance their economic empowerment and human development. This article identifies the strategies and innovations used and devises a possible typology for them.     

项目选择、贷款支持与小额贷款项目的经营状况———基于东中西部贫困农户的调查分析

小额贷款项目引入我国农村以来,其实施过程和绩效评估得到政界和学界的广泛关注。以我国东中西部贫困农户问卷调查数据为基础,通过多分类变量回归模型分析小额贷款项目类型、贷款额度等对项目经营状况的影响,发现：（1）小额贷款项目类型对项目经营状况影响显著,相比养殖业,从事种植和商贸业的农户盈利的概率较高;（2）贷款额度仅对项目持平影响显著,对项目盈利的影响不明显;（3）而贫困户主的年龄、技能等对项目经营状况均有显著影响,年龄对项目经营状况的影响表现出“间断性”,技能在项目盈利中表现出明显优势。     

The challenges of poverty and social welfare in the Caribbean

Poverty and related social problems have presented a long-standing challenge to policy makers and development planners throughout the Caribbean. This article is a social primer on anti-poverty strategies and welfare programmes established in Caribbean countries. It presents a comprehensive overview of poverty and attendant problems, discusses the social welfare approach and poverty reduction strategies, and outlines practical proposals for pursuing social development.     

民族地区农户小额信贷的产生理论与成效分析

我国扶贫工作已进入关键时刻,扶贫攻坚必须落实到村,落实到户,这是由基本解决农村贫困人口问题的目标和现阶段中国农村基本经营制度决定的.小额信贷是一种开发式扶贫,作为一种促进最贫困者物质资本和人力资本形成的一种有效制度,在农村地区的引进和实验,其积极意义是十分明显的.同时,由于农村地区的贫困面大、贫困程度深,内部又存在着自然、经济、文化、民族等方面的巨大差异,小额信贷在西部的推展就不可避免地遇到诸多的矛盾和问题,必须深化改革.     

我国小额信贷机构社会绩效的实证研究

近年来,小额信贷机构在我国发展迅猛,在服务三农上做出了很大贡献。但发展的同时商业化趋势越发明显,小额信贷机构不再单纯以扶贫作为最终目标,建立的初衷已逐渐开始违背,目标偏离现象越发严重,其发展也受到一定程度阻碍。实际上,小额信贷机构真正可持续发展需要实现财务绩效和社会绩效双重目标。因而在2009年社会绩效概念提出后,机构的关注点从最初的长期关注财务绩效逐渐跨到社会绩效。研究发现社会绩效的提高可从不同角度促进机构财务绩效。我们通过采用层次分析法,构建指标体系并建立层次结构模型,以此对小额信贷机构的社会绩效进行研究,评估当前我国公益性和商业性小额信贷机构的社会绩效的基本情况,并对此分析发现两种小额信贷机构侧重点不一样,但总体上对社会绩效的关注还是不够重视,真正意义上的小额信贷机构发展还是需要注重双重目标。     

Observing Unobservables: Identifying Information Asymmetries With a Consumer Credit Field Experiment

Information asymmetries are important in theory but difficult to identify in practice. We estimate the presence and importance of hidden information and hidden action problems in a consumer credit market using a new field experiment methodology. We randomized 58,000 direct mail offers to former clients of a major South African lender along three dimensions: (i) an initial “offer interest rate” featured on a direct mail solicitation; (ii) a “contract interest rate” that was revealed only after a borrower agreed to the initial offer rate; and (ii) a dynamic repayment incentive that was also a surprise and extended preferential pricing on future loans to borrowers who remained in good standing. These three randomizations, combined with complete knowledge of the lender's information set, permit identification of specific types of private information problems. Our setup distinguishes hidden information effects from selection on the offer rate (via unobservable risk and anticipated effort), from hidden action effects (via moral hazard in effort) induced by actual contract terms. We find strong evidence of moral hazard and weaker evidence of hidden information problems. A rough estimate suggests that perhaps 13% to 21% of default is due to moral hazard. Asymmetric information thus may help explain the prevalence of credit constraints even in a market that specializes in financing high‐risk borrowers.     

基于普惠金融视角的小额贷款公司发展研究

构建普惠金融体系成为当前我国新一轮农村金融改革的目标,小额信贷发展是实现普惠金融的重要内容.我国小额信贷发展过程中存在的问题主要体现在对“小额信贷”的理解存在偏差,小额贷款公司发展速度快,存在“目标偏移”的倾向,社会资金的商业利益与社会责任脱节.指出我国小额贷款公司发展的总体目标是实现财务绩效与社会绩效协调发展,为实现我国普惠金融,在路径选择上应该注重农村金融市场机制培育.提出从开展社会绩效评价、降低交易成本等方面实现普惠金融的对策建议.     

微型金融绩效研究述评

中国商业性小额贷款公司大范围试点提出了如何对这些小额贷款公司进行绩效评价的现实问题,对已有微型金融绩效研究的回顾有助于回应这一问题。微型金融绩效具有双重标准,社会绩效和财务绩效缺一不可,但两者之间可能存在权衡关系。社会绩效可进一步区分为覆盖面与福利影响两个维度。覆盖面与财务绩效的直接衡量指标具有多样性,绩效测度时既可利用指标直接衡量,也可以通过因子分析法、DEA等方法来综合测度,两类方法各有优劣。福利影响评价研究的核心难题在于存在样本偏差,不同的评价方法因其对样本偏差的控制差异会带来不同的评价结论。