In the first chapter basics about microfinance and the financial sector in developing countries will be presented in order to explain the purpose of MFIs in developing countries. The second chapter deals with public support and its role in microfinance business. This chapter will conclude with a...

In the first chapter basics about microfinance and the financial sector in developing countries will be presented in order to explain the purpose of MFIs in developing countries. The second chapter deals with public support and its role in microfinance business. This chapter will conclude with a...

The United Nations declared halving the number of poor people by 2015 as the first of their eight Millennium Development Goals. Foreign direct investment (FDI) is often seen as one instrument towards this goal because of its ability to stimulate economic growth trickling down to the poor....

? This paper discusses the impact of FDI on income inequality. ? The theoretical ways in which FDI might influence income inequality between countries as well as within a given country are discussed, with special attention also given to employment generation effects. ? Revisiting previous...

In the current context of increasing globalisation, there exist many arguments against it in that it does not benefit the poor. Globalisation through foreign direct investment (FDI) might do nothing for the poor since foreign investors usually recruit skilled workers who are likely to be...

Globalisation is a frequently used buzzword which many people associate with a fear of unemployment, rising inequality and social decline. In various instances, globalisation is even used as a scapegoat for every perceptible wrong turn; memories of the dependency debate of the seventies and...

International analysis of economic growth has confirmed the theoretical assumption that international variations in per capita income can to a large extent be explained by differences in the accumulation of capital and human capital and by differing rates of technological progress. However,...

Child labour is a widespread phenomenon. Although economic activities of children have been commonplace even before the industrialisation, it has in the meanwhile become a lasting symbol of the industrial revolution and of industrialisation in general. In most countries the inclusion of children...

This paper provides a theoretical model of party competition in a heterogeneous electorate. The latter consists of numerous groups of dominant-issue-voters who base their voting decision primarily on one issue of the political agenda. Parties follow a lexicographic objective function, aiming to...