Policymakers in Latin America increasingly are turning to policies that have high economic rates of return and a favorable impact on income distribution. By providing financial services to small businesses and poor households -which normally lack such services- credit unions help secure growth...

Latin America in the 1990s remains the most unequal region in the world in terms of income distribution. Yet because of its changing demographics -declining fertility rates and large number of young people entering the workforce- the region now has a unique window of opportunity to reduce the...

This book describes the leading role the IDB played in Central America's development in the 1990s, which was a time of redefining the role of the State, building new relationships with the private sector and civil society, and launching social programs to address the alarming levels of poverty...

This publication is aimed at bank supervisory authorities interested in or charged with developing a regulatory and supervisory framework for microfinance. It is intended to meet a growing demand for clearly identifiable principles and guidelines on how microfinance can be appropriately...

This paper presents a conceptual framework for explaining Credit Unions (CUs) loan delinquency and profitability in developing countries. It also offers an empirical estimation for a unique sample of CUs in Latin America.

Este trabajo complementa el documento "Estrategia para el Sector de Energía" que se encuentra para consideración de la administración del Banco. Por su naturaleza el documento de la estrategia contiene sólo aquellos elementos indispensables para orientar la acción del Banco en el sector de...

This paper describes how to do equipment finance--leasing and lending--for mainstream microentrepreneurs, that is, for those microentrepreneurs needing approximately $50 to $2500 to purchase equipment. Specifically, this paper examines the pros and cons of the two major financing alternatives,...

This paper analyzes the current practices of four leading Latin American Village Banking programs (VBIs): FINCA Nicaragua, Pro Mujer Bolivia, Compartamos (in Mexico), and CRECER (in Bolivia). By making a detailed examination and analysis of the major aspects of the village banking methodology...

This paper discusses microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the Caribbean. It argues that the reason they have lagged is fundamentally explained by factors internal to the MFIs, rather than external to them. The paper introduces four Caribbean MFIs, two with track records of low loan delinquency...

The current study gathers together a large database on the funding side of Latin American microfinance institutions (MFIs), providing detailed coverage of 61 regulated MFIs in nine Latin American countries with major microfinance markets. The study goes on to examine the relative costs of the...