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Interest Rates, Target Markets and Sustainability in Microfinance

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  • Jacinta Nwachukwu

Abstract

This paper presents evidence on the reliability of claims in the literature on microfinance institutions (MFIs) regarding the role of interest rates and institutional design in helping MFIs to realize financial self-sufficiency. It pools data from 426 institutions in 41 developing countries from 2004 to 2008. Contrary to expectations, the results of an ordered-logistic regression strongly support an inverted U-shaped function for the relationship between interest rates and sustainability, irrespective of customer orientation. Additionally, a shift away from the poorest borrowers in the low-end market does not significantly improve the likelihood of being more profitable after controlling for other relevant covariates. MFIs may not, therefore, be forced to drift away from their original goal of serving the underprivileged in pursuit of financial viability.

Suggested Citation

  • Jacinta Nwachukwu, 2014. "Interest Rates, Target Markets and Sustainability in Microfinance," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(1), pages 86-110, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:oxdevs:v:42:y:2014:i:1:p:86-110
    DOI: 10.1080/13600818.2013.827164
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Rashmi Kiran Ekka & Mark D. Wenner & Anita Campion, 2010. "Interest Rates and Implications for Microfinance in Latin America and the Caribbean," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 80278, Inter-American Development Bank.
    2. repec:idb:brikps:publication-detail,7101.html?id=68488 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Navajas, Sergio & Schreiner, Mark & Meyer, Richard L. & Gonzalez-vega, Claudio & Rodriguez-meza, Jorge, 2000. "Microcredit and the Poorest of the Poor: Theory and Evidence from Bolivia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 28(2), pages 333-346, February.
    4. Beatriz Armendáriz & Jonathan Morduch, 2010. "The Economics of Microfinance, Second Edition," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 2, volume 1, number 0262014106, December.
    5. Davidson, Russell & MacKinnon, James G., 1993. "Estimation and Inference in Econometrics," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780195060119.
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    Cited by:

    1. Jacinta C. Nwachukwu & Aqsa Aziz & Uchenna Tony‐Okeke & Simplice A. Asongu, 2018. "The determinants of interest rates in microfinance: Age, scale and organizational charter," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(3), pages 135-159, August.
    2. N. Ngoc B. & Н. Нгок Б., 2016. "Влияние Структуры Капитала И Юридического Статуса На Финансовую Устойчивость Микрофинансовых Институтов В Развивающихся Странах // The Effect Of Capital Structure And Legal Status On Financial Sustain," Review of Business and Economics Studies // Review of Business and Economics Studies, Финансовый Университет // Financial University, vol. 4(2), pages 53-64.
    3. Adriana Ramírez Rocha & Mauricio Cervantes Zepeda & Luis Arturo Bernal Ponce, 2019. "The determinants of outreach and profitability in MFI's: a structural equation approach," Remef - Revista Mexicana de Economía y Finanzas Nueva Época REMEF (The Mexican Journal of Economics and Finance), Instituto Mexicano de Ejecutivos de Finanzas, IMEF, vol. 14(1), pages 129-146, Enero-Mar.
    4. Ainan Memon & Waqar Akram & Ghulam Abbas & Abbas Ali Chandio & Sultan Adeel & Iram Yasmin, 2022. "Financial Sustainability of Microfinance Institutions and Macroeconomic Factors: A Case of South Asia," South Asian Journal of Macroeconomics and Public Finance, , vol. 11(1), pages 116-142, June.
    5. Adriana Ramírez Rocha & L. Arturo Bernal Ponce & Mauricio Cervantes Zepeda, 2019. "Differences in the interest rates of microfinance institutions in some emerging markets economies: An HLM approach/Diferencias en las tasas de interés entre instituciones financieras de algunas econo," Estudios Económicos, El Colegio de México, Centro de Estudios Económicos, vol. 34(2), pages 275-307.

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