The failures of the socialist model, evidenced by high unemployment, have led France to reorient itself towards more enterprise creation. These entrepreneurial ventures require financing. However, bankers do not want to assume the high risk of newly created enterprises. Moreover, small...

Both microcredit and sub-prime loans are loans to poor consumers, often in small amounts leading to high interest rates. These high interest rates charged by banks have raised the question whether the poor, often illiterate or with limited literacy, understand the amount of interests they are...

This paper looks at whether Morocco meets the usual criteria of a country where MFIs can succeed and what distinguishes Morocco from its North African neighbors (Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt) where a priori the culture is similar even though institutions may be different. The paper uses the...

Conventional wisdom indicates that the growth of credit may not materialize if credit rates remain capped by usury laws, as had long been the case in France. France therefore abolished usury ceilings on loans to microenterprise in an effort to increase financing for microenterprises. This should...