Growing awareness of the size and organizational potential of informal economies in the era
of globalization has triggered a profusion of research on linkages between the formal and …

The aim of this study was to ascertain what can be done by the informal finance sector to
close the credit gap in order to improve access to finance by SMEs. SMEs are the backbone …

An accessible analysis of the global expansion of financial markets in poor communities,
incorporating the latest thinking and evidence. The microfinance revolution has allowed …

In the past decade, microfinance programs have demonstrated that it is possible to lend to
low-income households while maintaining high repayment rates—even without requiring …

A landmark textbook on development economics The study of development in low-income
countries is attracting more attention around the world than ever before. Yet until now there …

The fast growth of Chinese private sector firms is taken as evidence that informal finance can
facilitate firm growth better than formal banks in developing countries. We examine firm …

This study investigates small businesses' financing decisions. Drawing upon asymmetric
information theory, institutional theory and relevant literature on cognitive financial …

Preface specifically, for thinking about why poor people stay poor—questions that, at some
level, go back to Adam Smith's inquiry into the wealth and poverty of nations. Microfinance …

This report is about building institutions that support markets which promote growth and
reduce poverty. It analyzes the myriad of institutions--formal and informal, public and private …