The Woodrow Wilson Center Press
Replicating Microfinance in the United States
James H. Carr and Zhong Yi Tong
Microfinance was pioneered in the developing world as the lending of small amounts of money to entrepreneurs who lacked the kinds of credentials and collateral demanded by banks. Similar practices spread from the developing to the developed world, reversing the usual direction of innovation, and today several hundred microfinance institutions are operating in the United States.
Replicating Microfinance in the United States reviews experiences in both developing and industrialized countries and extends the applications of microlending beyond enterprise to consumer finance, housing finance, and community development finance.
This book reviews experiences in both developing and industrial countries and extends the applications of microlending beyond enterprise to consumer finance, housing finance, and community development finance, concentrating especially on previously underserved households and their communities.
Replicating Microfinance in the United States is based on papers commissioned by the Fannie Mae Foundation and findings from an October 2001 conference jointly held by the Fannie Mae Foundation and Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C.
Contributors include Nitin Bhatt, Robert M. Buckley, Bruce Ferguson, Elinor Haider, Chi-kan Richard Hung, Sally R. Merrill, Jonathan Morduch, Gary Painter, Sohini Sarkar, Mark Schreiner, Lisa Servon, Ayşe Can Talen, Shui-Yan Tang, Kenneth Temkin, Andrés Vinelli, J. D. Von Pischke and Marc A. Weiss.
What People are Saying
"With the publication of this volume, knowledge and understanding of the practices of delivering micro-credit reach a new level of consolidation, and the stage is set for important further steps." -- From the foreword by Richard P. Taub, University of Chicago
Chapter List
Tables
Foreword, Richard P. Taub
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Replicating Microfinance in the United States--An Overview, James H. Carr and Zhong Yi Tong
Part I. Review and Synthesis of Research
1. Opportunities and Challenges for Microfinance in the United States, Mark Schreiner and Jonathan Morduch
Part II. International Experience with Microfinance: Concepts, Approaches, and Best Practices
2. Microfinance in Developing Countries, J.D. Von Pischke
3. Current Foundations of Microfinance Best Practices in Developing Countries
4. Microfinance in Industrial Countries: Lessons from the World Bank's Experience, Robert M. Buckley
5. Financial Sustainability in U.S. Microfinance Organizations: Lessons from Developing Countries, Andrés Vinelli
Part III. Microfinance in the United States: The Challenges and the Potential
6. Fulfilling the Potential of the U.S. Microenterprise Strategy, Lisa J. Servon
7. The Challenges of Outreach and Sustainability for U.S. Microcredit Programs, Mitin Bhatt, Gary Painter, and Shui-Yan Tang
8. From South to North: A Comparative Study of Group-Based Microcredit Programs in Developing Countries and the United States, Chi-kan Richard Hung
Part IV. Comparative Studies of Microfinance for Housing
9. Microfinance and Low- and Moderate-Income Lending for Housing in Emerging Markets and the United States, Sally R. Merrill and Kenneth Temkin
10. Microfinance of Progressive Housing: Can Techniques from Developing Countries Be Adapted in the United States? Bruce Ferguson and Elinor R. Haider
Part V. The Future of Microfinance in the United States
11. The Future of Microfinance in the United States: Research, Practice, and Policy Perspectives, Ayşe Can Talen, Marc A. Weiss, and Sohini Sarkar
Contributors
Index