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。     

The risks and incentives of disciplinary neoliberal feminism: the case of microfinance

This article develops an analysis of the concept of disciplinary neo-liberal feminism through a focus on gendered poverty alleviation strategies and illustrates the value of this through a discussion of microfinance. By locating this study within an analysis of the expansion of global capital accumulation, the article argues that the liberal frameworks of female empowerment and entrepreneurialism that are central to these programs and to feminism in this form, mask their underlying political, social and economic objectives. In contrast, a Marxist Feminist approach more adequately explains the interplay of class and gender that underpins poverty alleviation strategies. This article argues that in the context of financial crisis and reduced social provision, women living in poverty in the Global South were identified as targets for the expansion of global finance. Their integration into global financial networks via microfinance and other pro-poor strategies has facilitated the expansion of markets for credit while at the same time disciplining market participation through the twin forces of risk and incentive. Disciplinary neo-liberal feminism has underpinned this incorporation of women into global capital accumulation creating profound effects for households and families, with microfinance programs representing important sites of contestation for the politics of class and gender.     

Over‐indebtedness and microcredit in Cambodia: Moving beyond borrower‐centric frames

Over the past two decades, Cambodia has experienced an unprecedented credit boom, a growth in lending so rapid that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) referred to it as “one of the fastest financial deepening episodes by historical cross‐cultural standards” (IMF, 2016, p. 4). This deepening has been driven by the expansion of microcredit. In tandem, over‐indebtedness has increased among microcredit borrowers, and debt has become a significant political and economic concern. This article explores how over‐indebtedness is understood and explained by stakeholders across microcredit value chains. To do so, we draw on interviews with microfinance institution (MFI) executives, investors, branch managers, partners, financial literacy trainers, loan officers and borrowers in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh. We find that across the sector, dominant framings of over‐indebtedness privilege borrower‐centric explanations, while discounting the structural drivers of excessive lending and borrowing. As a consequence, current efforts to limit over‐indebtedness are unlikely to produce the kinds of solutions that are most needed to reduce the debt stress among borrowers. These arguments have implications across the Global South, particularly for contexts where microfinance is rapidly expanding.     

Sustainability and depth of outreach: Evidence from microfinance institutions in sub‐Saharan Africa

The feasibility of microfinance institutions (MFIs) to expand outreach to the poorest while remaining financially sustainable has long been debated. Using data from 206 MFIs in 33 African countries, we adopt the three‐stage least square technique to assess whether a trade‐off exists between sustainability and outreach depth. Our results confirm the existence of a trade‐off. The evidence also supports ongoing subsidies for MFIs with the aim of encouraging outreach. In addition, we examine whether there is an inflection point beyond which higher interest rates reduce profitability for MFIs. We find no evidence of a threshold beyond which profitability is reduced.     

社会企业视角下的小额信贷可持续发展研究——以宁夏盐池小额信贷转型实践为例

宁夏盐池小额信贷是全国第一家获准转型为小额信贷公司的公益性小额信贷机构。转型后,盐池小额信贷非但没有偏离其扶贫目标,反而由于服务能力的提高而使扶贫目标在更大范围和更深层次上得到实现。文章在实地调研的基础上,从社会企业的视角出发,对盐池小额信贷的经验及具体做法进行了深入的研究和总结,以期对其他同类小额信贷机构平衡双重目标约束,保证小额信贷的可持续发展提供有益的借鉴和启示。     

小额信贷可持续发展面临的问题及对策分析

小额信贷引入我国已有近二十年了,对我国的扶贫攻坚计划起了重要的作用,但随着经济形势的变化,小额信贷面临一些新的问题。本文从小额信贷的产品设计、目标群体的定位、财务可持续以及面临的风险等四个方面出发,分析了其面临的可持续问题,并在此基础上提出了相关对策。     

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.     

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.     

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.