The Morality of Money Lending

This paper presents some of the historical background to the question, What is the fair price to pay for the use of someone else's money? It identifies weaknesses in the arguments that have been used to justify the regulation of interest rates by the political or religious authorities. It argues that economic forces, not ethics, should be the primary determinant of the rate of interest charged. In addition the paper identifies some lessons for microfinance companies, which need to consider how to set prices for the loans they make