MONITOR JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

Transcription

1 MONITOR JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL STUDIES Volume 12, Number 2 Spring 2007 THE COLLEGE OF WILLIAM AND MARY

2 Microfinance Plus: Non-financial Services Offered by Microfinance Institutions and their Impact on Predominantly Female Clients Jacqueline Marie Westley Microfinance is a dynamic and innovative approach to poverty alleviation. Grameen Bank founder Muhammad Yunus s idea to provide small loans to clients who are too poor to be served by commercial banks has evolved into a rapidly-growing industry of many different microfinance institutions (MFIs) throughout the world. 1 Providing small-scale credit to poor individuals so that they can invest in their own businesses to lift themselves out of poverty has met with such great success that many MFIs have extended their offerings beyond credit to other financial and non-financial services. MFIs particularly target women in the provision of microfinance because they are typically more impoverished than men, have lower default rates, and are less likely to squander the money. 2 Microfinance Plus is the provision of non-financial services in coordination with financial services. This synergistic approach to microfinance is predicated on the idea that human development and poverty alleviation occur not only through access to financial resources but also through access to basic services that allow poor people to improve their quality of life. 3 This model leverages existing structures already used to provide financial services to also offer a wider range of services for the human and social development of clients. MFIs target very poor populations, which tend to be the most excluded from healthcare, education, and training, as well as from traditional financial services. Thus, it is beneficial to provide these disenfranchised groups with as many of the basic services as possible. The purpose of this paper is to identify the non-financial services offered by various MFIs and to examine the impact of these services on MFI clients specifically to determine whether MFIs succeed in providing basic services to their clients. JACQUELINE MARIE WESTLEY is a senior at William and Mary majoring in Economics and minoring in Marketing. As a result of her travel to developing countries and her studies in economics, she has cultivated a special interest in development economics, especially microfinance. Jacqueline is grateful to her parents for their unstinting guidance and support, Professor Kim Zeuli, and the Micro, Small & Medium Enterprise Division of the Inter-American Development Bank.

3 34 The Monitor - Spring 2007 One compelling reason to further examine this topic is the wealth of evidence linking positive outcomes for individuals and families with participation in microfinance programs. Positive outcomes range from empowerment of women, to increases in children s nutrition and health, and to increases in income and consumption smoothing in order to reduce vulnerability. 4 Impact studies are one of the primary evaluation methods MFIs use to measure outcomes. These studies do not disaggregate their findings by financial services versus non-financial services. Impact is defined as sustained changes in people s lives brought about by a particular intervention. 5 Intuitively, it appears that the combination of the two services creates a synergistic positive effect on borrowers. If, for example, a client receives good business and hygiene advice from a microfinance group meeting, in addition to receiving a loan to invest in his or her microenterprise, then he or she could invest in the business wisely as well as keep the family healthy. This aid would increase the number of work days, thus increasing income and reducing medical costs. Availability of money, financial knowledge, and awareness of good business practices create a multiplier effect that further helps individuals and families lift themselves out of poverty. 6 MFIs implement microfinance policy through individual, solidarity group, and village banking loan programs. Individual loans are generally of the type that commercial banks offer, but on a smaller scale. Solidarity group and village banking are, for the purposes of this paper, group lending strategies. Group lending is an innovative tool of microfinance because this strategy does not require collateral. In place of physical collateral, group lending holds all members accountable for the repayment of each group member s loan. Thus, if one member defaults, no one else in the group receives credit. This method of mutual liability enables those who are too poor or do not have collateral to receive credit. Solidarity groups have anywhere between two and 10 members, while village banking consists of groups with more than 10 members, usually containing around 15 to 30 members. MFIs offer these individuals and groups a wide variety of financial services, including savings services, insurance, and money transfers. Many MFIs operating through solidarity groups and especially those operating through village banking offer a variety of non-financial services. These services go beyond the financial realm to offer practical advice, training, and other services aimed at improving the health, education, and general well-being of individuals and their families. For example, CRECER (Crédito con Educación Rural) in Bolivia offers education on birth timing and spacing as well as immunizations for clients and their families in an effort to improve the health of its clients. 7 Additionally, Faulu Uganda focuses on the holistic transformation of its clients through teaching good business practices and ethics in conjunction with offering

4 Microfinance Plus 35 credit to prevent clients and their families from going hungry. 8 Most MFIs that adhere to the Microfinance Plus model base their loan methodology on group lending, either through village banks or solidarity groups. The plan for the rest of the paper is as follows. First, the paper presents the methodology used to examine the research question. The paper then presents three detailed case studies of MFIs with exemplary programs for providing non-financial services. Then the paper analyzes impact studies on each case to determine how effective MFI non-financial services are in assisting clients. Finally, the paper examines the commonalities between these MFIs and discusses the implications of the findings of these studies. Methodology This paper analyzes three well-known MFIs representing Latin America, Africa, and Asia, selected on the basis of availability of impact studies and the extent of non-financial services offered. The three MFIs selected for examination were BRAC in Bangladesh, Pro Mujer in Bolivia, and Freedom from Hunger in Ghana. While it would be useful to examine even more MFIs, individual MFIs generally conduct impact studies, and there is much variation in methods of data collection and analysis among different organizations. Furthermore, one must examine in depth the various services each MFI offers to best understand the meaning of the impact data. The following is an introduction to each MFI and its non-financial services, accompanied by an examination of the impact on clients. The paper especially focuses on impact measures that may have been direct results of the specific non-financial services that the MFIs offered. It also studies measures, such as change in income, that result from participating in an MFI since non-financial services are likely to have contributed to these types of changes. In addition, the paper examines studies commissioned by each MFI and information available on each organization s website, as well as studies, journal articles, and technical papers not commissioned by the MFIs. Freedom from Hunger (Ghana) Freedom from Hunger is a non-profit organization that is committed to battling hunger through innovative self-help programs. It has established numerous MFIs in 16 different countries in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Freedom from Hunger Ghana currently serves nearly 21,000 poor women and is one of the most dynamic of the non-profit s endeavors. 9 Its program of Credit with Education delivers financial and non-financial services through MFIs using the village banking loan strategy. 10 The amalgamation of group-based poverty lending and

5 36 The Monitor - Spring 2007 non-formal education in the areas of health, nutrition, and business management into one program reduces the unit costs of delivering these services. The program realizes economies of scope, as it provides multiple education programs using the existing infrastructure created for the primary program and the provision of financial services. The fact that it offers multiple services to clients decreases the likelihood that clients will drop out of the Credit with Education program, which makes these MFIs more sustainable. Also, it would be much harder to provide sustainable non-financial services without providing them in conjunction with more financially sustainable microlending programs. Weekly village banking meetings provide non-financial information, in which women gather in their village banking groups of about 25 members. 11 They learn about health, nutrition, family planning, and sound business practices. Field agents present practical information through role-playing, storytelling, and songs. Women can then act on their newly-acquired knowledge with the money they make from their businesses in order to break the cycle of poverty. Discussion is also an important part of weekly meetings. Group members discuss their plans for starting, growing, or expanding their businesses. Additionally, they break into smaller groups to work on problem solving skills. Measuring Impact Numerous studies conducted by Freedom from Hunger demonstrate that clients receiving Credit with Education experienced improved income, sources of income, and health and nutrition practices when compared to their situation before joining the program and when compared to non-participants and control community individuals. 12 In 1993, Freedom from Hunger surveyed all participants just before they joined the program, and again in 1996, after clients had participated in the program for three years. Impact studies indicate that clients overall income and the availability of secondary sources of income increased more than those of non-participants and controls. These studies attribute these improvements to the combination of credit and educational services about good business practices and health that Freedom from Hunger provides. Clients monthly incomes increased by $36, compared to $18 for non-clients over the three-year period. Additionally, 80 percent of clients had secondary sources of income, compared to 50 percent for non-clients in These increases in overall income and in the availability of secondary income sources may partially result from the sound business practice advice that clients receive at the weekly meetings. When considering health outcomes, clients became more aware of good health practices than did non-participants and control individuals over a threeyear period. For example, clients have better breast-feeding practices. 14 Mothers

6 Microfinance Plus 37 should breastfeed newborns as long as possible before introducing water as a substitute for breast milk. Client mothers waited until infants reached an average of 125 days old to introduce water, as opposed to 63 days among non-participants, and 51 days among women in control communities. This change in behavior improves infants nutrition and decreases the likelihood that the infants will die. This practice may be directly attributed to educational programs, since feeding a child breast milk instead of water has no added costs associated to suggest that increases in income would improve infant nutrition. As a result, children of clients are likely to be healthier because they breast-feed for a longer period of time during infancy. Clients also learn disease prevention and amelioration techniques in their weekly meetings. Researchers interviewed samples of clients, non-participants, and control community resident mothers in 1993 and again in One question was: What can you do to prevent diarrhea? 15 By 1996, only one percent of participant mothers answered that they did not know even one practice to prevent diarrhea, compared with 35 percent of non-participant mothers, and 33 percent of mothers in control communities. This comparison is true despite the fact that the knowledge levels of individual diarrhea prevention techniques among participant, non-participant, and control community mothers were fairly similar in After mothers participated in Freedom from Hunger programs for three years, a much larger percentage of these mothers knew more techniques than non-participant and control mothers did, whose percentages remained roughly the same. For example, participant mothers answers of don t know or can t be prevented decreased by 29 percent over the three-year period, compared to increases of four percent and three percent among non-participants and control communities, respectively. This statistical evidence supports the hypothesis that the program s health advice offered at weekly meetings led to increased positive outcomes in the important area of diarrhea prevention. Another important result of program participation was improved family planning. Researchers also surveyed program participants, non-participants, and control community individuals in 1993 and 1996 about whether they and their spouse had discussed ways to space or avoid pregnancies. 16 In 1996, 78 percent of program participants had discussed family planning with their spouses, compared to 40 percent of non-participants, and 58 percent of women in control communities. More importantly, there was an increase of 12 percent among program participants who had this discussion with their spouses over the three-year period, compared to a decrease of 12 percent among non-participants, and an increase of 7 percent among control community women. The greater increase of program participants having discussions with their spouse about family planning when compared to other groups indicates that educational family planning presenta-

7 38 The Monitor - Spring 2007 tions and seminars gave participants the impetus to use better family planning practices. Pro Mujer (Bolivia) According to its mission statement, Pro Mujer (Programs for Women) International establishes sustainable microfinance institutions that offer financial services and training programs geared to the needs of poor, undereducated women who either operate a small business or would like to start one. 17 The organization began its operations in Bolivia in 1991 and then expanded its services in Nicaragua, Argentina, Mexico, and Peru. Pro Mujer provides health and human services to poor women by supplying credit and by promoting good health practices and self-esteem since all of these measures contribute to clients ability to earn income and care for their families. 18 The program s myriad non-financial offerings focus on teaching women how to care for themselves and their families through better nutrition, primary care, and hygiene. Women are also encouraged to recognize their basic human rights and to campaign against domestic violence in self-help groups during weekly sessions. According to Pro Mujer, The complete multi-faceted program increases the probability of better health, an increased income stream, and long-term sustainability of the women s micro-businesses. In addition, membership in the village banks develops social support systems that reduce the women s vulnerability and marginality. 19 Members of Pro Mujer benefit from participating in the organization s programs in a variety of ways. Measuring Impact Pro Mujer Bolivia has collected data on the impact of its financial and non-financial services on food shortages, medical checkups, education access, home improvements, increases in education, increases in income, participation in social organizations, personal goals, numerical skills, and money management abilities for clients and controls. 20 Across all of these measures, a higher percentage of clients experienced positive outcomes than did the controls. These positive outcomes, especially numerical skills, medical checkups for both adults and children, and money management, as indicated by an individual s ability to administer money for home and business functions separately, may be attributed to Pro Mujer s provision of non-financial services. The program s emphasis on educating clients about money management and numerical skills may account for the large (about 15 percent) difference in the share of clients versus controls who have these skills. Also, Pro Mujer s staff of doctors who are available to clients at a discount may account for the fact that a larger percentage of clients and their children received check-ups than did the controls and their children.

8 Microfinance Plus 39 The control women have over their own earnings also shows the impact Pro Mujer has on its participants. In all of its programs, Pro Mujer tries to empower women and foster solidarity among its female clients through its weekly sessions. A good proxy measure for how independent women feel in their households is how much control they have over spending their own income. Eight percent more of client women have complete control over their earnings than do the control group of women. 21 Also, five percent less client women have no decision-making power compared to control group women. The solidarity, independence, and empowerment fostered by Pro Mujer s programs clearly increase a woman s control over her own earnings. Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (Bangladesh) Created in 1972, the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee s (BRAC) goal was an enlightened Bangladesh free from poverty and hunger. 22 Today, the organization serves all 64 districts of Bangladesh and has expanded its outreach to assist Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. BRAC is now one of the largest and most dynamic organizations committed to poverty alleviation. As of 2005, it served over four million active borrowers, 97 percent of whom were women. 23 BRAC takes a holistic approach, realizing that ameliorating and alleviating the burdens of poverty is a multifaceted problem that requires a multifaceted approach. Thus, it has always opted for a credit plus approach, where loans are given to poor women in combination with various forms of skills and business training, elementary education for the children of participants, health care, social development services, and the creation of grassroots organizations for the poor. BRAC has some of the most extensive non-financial services of any MFI in the world, including health, education, and social development programs that exist as separate entities but act in harmony with its microfinance programs. 24 In accordance with its comprehensive approach of combining microfinance programs with health, education, and other social development programs, BRAC has developed the following independent programs; these programs are open to all members of the community, but program participants receive a discount. BRAC s Education Program (BEP) operated over 24,000 schools as of 2003 and continues to grow. 25 The schools focus on literacy, numerical skills, and life skills the same competencies taught at government primary schools. The program is expanding to offer information technology skills, pre-primary schools, as well as life skills for adolescents. All of BRAC s education programs focus on educating girls and women, and most of the program participants come from women-headed households. BRAC s Health Program provides preventive, curative, and rehabilitative

9 40 The Monitor - Spring 2007 grassroots health services that have proven effective in the past. It offers comprehensive health care to 31 million people and reaches 82 million people through its tuberculosis prevention program. 26 BRAC provides critical services in reproductive health and disease control, mobilizes women, and disseminates information through village organization meetings, meetings with community members, and household visits. The female community paramedics organize monthly health education meetings with the assistance of the community health volunteers who also participate in BRAC microfinance programs. BRAC s Social Development, Human Rights, and Legal Services program aims to promote greater awareness of social, political, and economic issues. 27 This program gives microfinance participants access to information about law, demystifies the law through legal literacy classes, raises awareness about legal rights, and empowers the poor, especially women, both legally and socially by encouraging them to take legal action. Through its legal aid clinics, the program provides assistance to community members whose rights are being seriously compromised. The legal aid clinics help BRAC members as well as poor community members resolve their conflicts either through local arbitration or through the formal legal system by providing legal advice and assistance. Measuring Impact BRAC believes that the productive use of microcredit, along with the knowledge gained from BRAC s non-financial services, will increase the social and economic bargaining power of an individual or household and will lead to a greater usage of health care services among poor participants. BRAC s Education Program has met with great success, as its primary schools account for 11 percent of the total number of primary schools in Bangladesh. 28 BRAC s schools target those who can not otherwise receive formal primary schooling, and, compared to the public primary schools, they enroll and retain a higher proportion of hardto-reach children, especially women and girls, who make up 65 percent of those enrolled. BRAC s Health Program has also met with great success. Impact studies show a significant positive correlation between credit program participation and access to and use of health services, even when controlled for the influences of demographic and social factors. For example, child mortality in the neonatal and post-neonatal periods improved among BRAC participants. 29 When comparing the probability of infants survival between birth and 60 months in poor member households, poor non-member households, and non-poor non-member households, the probability of an infant surviving in a poor BRAC member household has reached that of a non-poor non-member household. The probability of a

10 Microfinance Plus 41 child s survival in a poor member household is much higher than that of a poor non-member household, which one may attribute to the excellent health services provided at a discount to BRAC participant households and to the information on infant care, nutrition, and health disseminated at weekly meetings. Family planning practices are also a central focus of BRAC s non-financial services. BRAC has collected data comparing changes over time in fertility, comparing female BRAC participants to non-participant women. 30 These data measure the ratio of young children less than five years old to currently married women in the reproductive age range of 16 to 50 years old and indicate the fertility of the population. The results demonstrate a gradual and sustained reduction in fertility among BRAC member households, ending with a much lower woman-to-child ratio among participants (about 0.4) than in the comparison group (about 0.6). The availability of and knowledge about contraception may be a contributing factor to the decrease in fertility among program participants, since family planning advice and information is offered at the weekly meetings. The prevalence of violence against women, especially during menstrual and neonatal periods negatively correlates with program participation. BRAC data compares marital sexual violence against women among eligible non-participants, BRAC participants who have been members for less than five years, BRAC participants who have been members for more than five years, and women who are not eligible to join BRAC. 31 One of the most important results is that the probability of being abused decreases as program participation increases, especially in the neonatal period, during which there is a decrease of nearly 10 percent when comparing participants of fewer than five years to those of greater than five years. Also of importance is the fact that non-participants who are eligible to join BRAC experience nearly 10 percent greater marital sexual violence overall than did those members who have participated in BRAC for under five years. Although many factors contribute to marital sexual violence, such as the husband-wife relationship, the possibility of extending credit to women increases their bargaining power in the household. Non-financial services may well contribute to decreasing violence against women as their participation in BRAC increases. BRAC services such as legal workshops may contribute to decreased domestic violence. Discussion The impact studies from Freedom from Hunger, Pro Mujer, and BRAC present a number of similarities. While some variation clearly exists in the offerings among these three MFIs, all had programs that provided non-formal education on good health and business practices through weekly meetings and other elective programs. In many ways, the impact study findings for these three

11 42 The Monitor - Spring 2007 MFIs are very similar. First, Freedom from Hunger participants demonstrated many good health and family planning outcomes, including: the introduction of water to infants at an older age, knowledge of more ways to prevent diarrhea, and greater likelihood of discussing family planning practices with their spouse when compared to non-participants or control community individuals. Second, Pro Mujer s impact studies indicate a number of good health, business, and empowerment outcomes. Participants and their children were more likely to get check-ups, participants had better numerical and money management skills, and they had more control over their own earnings. Third, BRAC impact studies show good health, family planning, and intra-household violence outcomes. Participant households experienced lower child mortality rates, decreased fertility, and decreased marital violence against women. All programs showed increases in good health practices, and both Freedom from Hunger and BRAC exhibited good family planning outcomes. Only Pro Mujer s impact studies showed increases in good business practices, and only BRAC s studies showed decreases in intra-household violence. Nonetheless, the broad similarities are striking. From the impact studies conducted for Freedom from Hunger, Pro Mujer, and BRAC, there are a number of positive outcomes that are likely attributable to non-financial services provided by MFIs. The available studies for each of these three MFIs generally indicate positive outcomes for program participants when compared to non-participants and control groups. However, most impact studies provide inherently flawed ways to measure the impact of an MFI s programs. The biggest problem with impact studies is the likelihood of a sizable selection bias. The selection bias occurs because impact studies compare outcomes of participants who may have inherent traits that non-participants or control group individuals do not, which would systematically affect impact study results. For example, participants may have more entrepreneurial spirits, as evidenced by their participation in microfinance programs, as opposed to those who have not participated in microfinance programs and may be less entrepreneurial. Thus, impact studies may over-attribute positive outcomes to the programs offered by MFIs, when in fact these outcomes may in no small measure be due to the characteristics of the program s participants. 32 The selection bias problem acts as a form of omitted variable bias. Since one cannot reliably estimate the size of the selection bias, it is not possible to decompose differences in observed impact into a bias term and actual impact of the program. 33 A few cases have circumvented the problem of selection bias, most notably by randomizing assignment of cases and controls (a technique that is widely used in medical research). The randomized control method, championed by many scholars, including Dean Karlan, pools all those who have been approved to receive credit and randomly gives credit to part of the pool and denies credit

12 Microfinance Plus 43 to the other part. 34 This method allows researchers to more safely attribute those statistically significant positive or negative impact differences to obtaining credit and non-financial services and not to other differences between participants and non-participants. As this is a relatively new method, few MFIs have begun to employ this type of impact study, and none of the three MFIs examined in this paper have used it to date. A second best method is the use of pipeline controls. The pipeline approach, as used by Freedom from Hunger Ghana, compares people who have already received credit for some time to those who have been approved but have not yet received their loans; as shown in the studies where participants outcomes are measured in 1993, before they began to participate in the MFI s programs, and again in 1996, after participating in the MFI s programs for three years. 35 Therefore, studies can compare changes over time between participants, non-participants, and control community individuals. Although this method only partly addresses the selection bias problem, it is preferable to Pro Mujer s method. Pro Mujer s impact studies compare participants to non-participants at a certain point in time. BRAC uses a number of different methods, including the comparison of BRAC member households to non-member households in poverty and nonmember households not in poverty at certain points in time. It is important to measure impact using the most rigorous tests. While randomized tests are not perfect, the potential for bias is smaller than in non-randomized studies. Some organizations view the randomized control studies as less ethical because they deny services to deserving individuals. This problem can be minimized when measuring the impact of non-financial services by approving all qualified candidates for financial services and randomly providing non-financial services to some individuals. Also, all qualifying individuals could be approved for credit and non-financial services, but provision of services would be delayed for the period of the study. This method would be used instead of randomly assigning both financial and non-financial services to only half of the qualified pool. Neither BRAC, nor CRECER, nor Pro Mujer has yet completed these studies, which would undoubtedly yield interesting results. Completing these studies would be only marginally more costly than completing the current type of impact study that these MFIs use and would provide a more definitive conclusion about the impact of non-financial services. Researchers need rigorous evaluations to make clear judgments about the impact of non-financial services and to determine whether and under what conditions these services would constitute good development work. Due to the current limitations of impact studies and also to the lack of studies conducted by other organizations not affiliated with the MFIs in question, there can be no definitive conclusion concerning the impact of non-finan-

13 44 The Monitor - Spring 2007 cial services on women. Although independent organizations generally lack the resources to conduct impact studies on MFIs, the results would be interesting. While evidence to date from in-house studies seems to indicate positive impacts of non-financial services on clients, one must use caution in drawing conclusions from available data due to the described limitations. It should be noted that not all MFIs offer non-financial services. For example, Bank Rakyat in Indonesia and Banco Solidario (BancoSol) in Bolivia, two prominent MFIs, extend financial services to a great many people in need. They should not be criticized for failing to offer non-financial services. They simply offer a different product, which may be better suited to their clients, who may not have the same need for non-financial services. However, since microfinance has become an increasingly competitive field, offering high quality non-financial services provides a value-added difference that can create a competitive advantage in attracting certain segments of the population that have a significant demand for these services. Such offerings distinguish these MFIs from others that offer purely financial services. From the standpoint of sustainability, the benefits of procuring a competitive advantage by providing financial and medical knowledge, which encourage client productivity, may outweigh the added cost of providing nonfinancial services.

14 Microfinance Plus 45 Notes 1 Khan Osmani, Lutfun. Impact of Credit on the Relative Well-Being of Women: Evidence from the Grameen Bank. IDS Bulletin 29, no. 4 (1998). 2 Despanda, Rani. Increasing Access and Benefits for Women: Practices and Innovations among Microfinance Institutions Survey Results. New York: UNCDF, Velasco, Carmen, and Saiko Chiba. Expanding Impact: Innovations in Cost- Effectively Integrating Microfinance with Education in Health. Pro Mujer working paper presented at the Microcredit Summit, Washington, D.C., Littlefield, Elizabeth, Jonathan Murdoch, and Syed Hashemi. Is Microfinance an Effective Strategy to Reach the Millennium Development Goals? World Bank s Consultative Group to Assist the Poorest (CGAP), Focus Note No. 24, Halder, Shantana R. The BRAC Microfinance Approach and its Impact at Individual, Household, and Beyond Household Levels: A Synthesis. Microfinance_Approach_and_its_Impact.pdf 6 Ibid. 7 Littlefield, Murdoch, and Hashemi Ibid. 9 Freedom from Hunger. (accessed November 2006). 10 Ibid. 11 Beinpuo, F. Group Intermediation in Ghana. The Credit with Education Program. Alternative Finance, For all studies in this paper, non-participants are individuals who live in a village where the microfinance program was offered, but they did not participate. Control community individuals live in a village where the microfinance program was not offered and thus did not participate in it. Control communities are chosen based on their similarities to villages where such programs are offered. 13 Beinpuo MkNelly, Barbara, and Christopher Dunford. Impact of Credit with Education on Mothers and their Young Children s Nutrition: Lower Pra Rural Bank Credit with Education Program in Ghana. Freedom From Hunger, Research Paper No. 4, Ibid. 16 MkNelly, Barbara, and Mona McCord. Credit with Education Impact Review No. 1: Women s Empowerment. Freedom from Hunger, Pro Mujer. (accessed November 2006). 18 Pro Mujer Launched Integrated Microfinance Program in Argentina, Targets the Most Impoverished. Business Wire, Nov. 14, Pro Mujer 2006.

15 46 The Monitor - Spring Evaluación de Impactos de Programas para la Mujer (Pro Mujer). Asociación de Instituciones Financieras para el Desarrollo Rural (Finrural), May Ibid. 22 BRAC. (accessed November 2006). 23 Ibid. 24 Zaman, Hassan. Assessing the Poverty and Vulnerability Impact of Micro-Credit in Bangladesh: A case study of BRAC. Office of the Chief Economist and Senior Vice- President of the World Bank, BRAC Education Program. (accessed November 2006). 26 BRAC Health Program. (accessed November 2006). 27 BRAC Ibid. 29 Zaman IAS-I, -II, and -III refer to three surveys conducted over a period of time, with IAS- I being the earliest survey, conducted in 1993, and IAS-III being the latest study, conducted in Halder. 32 Cheston, Susy. Measuring Transformation: Assessing and Improving the Impact of Microcredit, Part II: Implementing Impact Assessments and Monitoring Systems: A Practitioner Perspective from Zambia. Presented at the Microcredit Summit Campaign, Washington, D.C., Duflo, Esther, and Michael Kremer. Use of Randomization in the Evaluation of Development Effectiveness. Presented at the World Bank Operations Evaluation Department Conference on Evaluation and Development Effectiveness, Washington, DC, Gine, X., T. Harigaya, D. Karlan, and B. Nguyen. Evaluating Microfinance Program Innovation with Randomized Control Trials: An Example from Group versus Individual Lending. Asian Development Bank, MkNelly and Dunford 1998.