We conducted a survey in 2001 among members and group leaders of borrowers who accessed loans from two microcredit programs in Eritrea. Using the results from this survey, this paper aims to provide new insights on the empirical relevance of the homogeneous matching hypothesis for microcredit...

This paper analyzes whether the effects of monitoring and social ties of the group leader and other group members on repayment performance of groups differ, using data from an extensive questionnaire held in Eritrea among participants of 102 groups. We hypothesize that the monitoring activities...

This paper uses stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) to examine whether there is a trade-off between outreach to the poor and efficiency of microfinance institutions (MFIs). Using a sample of more than 1,300 observations, our study suggests that outreach and efficiency of MFIs are indeed...

This paper examines, for a sample of 657 state-owned Chinese firms in 2005, whether group affiliation improves performance. By using a simple OLS regression, as well as propensity score matching, treatment effects and two-step instrumental variable methods, we find a robust positive effect of...

This paper examines whether institutional differences between countries impact upon the efficient operation of commercial banks. We hypothesize that well developed institutions may affect the adoption of the technology used by banks, and the efficient use of the technology in place. By applying...

The Vietnamese privatisation programme, launched in 1992, differs from usual Western privatisation programmes in terms of the residual percentage of shares owned by the state and the portion of shares transferred to insiders. This begs the question whether these differences influence the effects...

The World Bank report Assessing Aid assumes that an inflow of aid, above a certain level, starts to have negative effects. In this analysis we empirically test this assumption. We find evidence for negative returns to aid at high levels of aid inflows. However, the results are sensitive to both...

The publication of the Assessing Aid report of the World Bank in 1998 has stimulated the debate on the future of development aid and aid policies. This collection contains a number of studies that aim to contribute to this debate. In this introduction we put the discussion on the future of...