Markets need some very strong prerequisites to function well and be a self regulating system. Creating markets, where the most basic institutional factors necessary for the functioning of a market is nonexistent, is futile. In other words, talking about private sector development where markets...

In this paper, we investigate the role of output market imperfections in constraining the microfinance program to mitigate credit market imperfections. We develop a model in which output market imperfections increase operating costs for NGOs and create barriers for producers to market their...

Poverty alleviation is an important policy objective in developed welfare states. This paper analyzes the effect of social transfer policies on poverty. A vast literature claims that high social effort goes along with low poverty levels across countries. This paper systematically analyzes this...

Is it possible for microfinance institutions to simultaneously pursue profits and poverty reduction? This study explores this question by analyzing the impact of Khushhali Bank, the largest retail microfinance bank in Pakistan. Khushhali Bank has shown that it can scale up outreach while...

The recent earthquake in Japan and its impact on the Fukushima nuclear power plant is a tragic reminder of humanity’s ever growing dependence on energy for its socioeconomic development. Energy plays a central role in determining the effectiveness of economics. However, are the fundamental...

Despite the extensive spread of micro finance, studies on the actual impact of MFIs are often more ambivalent about its impact than is the aid community. Much has been written on the range of institutional arrangements pursued in different organizations and countries and in turn a vast number...

Microfinance institutions (MFIs) are often seen by aid practitioners as a manifestly effective means of improving the position of the poor. Despite this widely held view, detailed research studies have been much more guarded about the impact of MFIs. In particular, several studies have raised...

This paper examines the linkage among financial liberalization, economic growth and poverty reduction in Sub-Saharan African countries (SSA). The study applies the recent panel Co-integration and vector error correction mechanism to address the heterogeneity and cross-border interdependence over...

We use the work-leisure choice model to compute equilibrium weekly hours worked for a number of Arab countries, where actual statistics are unavailable. We show that the labor supply curve is elastic in all Arab countries, and provide a new measure of labor productivity. This finding confirms...

The objective of this study is to investigate whether remittances in Macedonia affect poverty and inequality. Using two household surveys, one conducted in 2008, one in 2012, we find that remittances reduce both poverty and inequality. The inequality-reducing effect has been particularly present...