Major investments have been made in developing microfinance in Asia with reducing poverty as one of the frequently stated objectives. A variety of institutional forms of microfinance are being introduced in the region - including by the ADB - and financial institutions pursue different...

We construct a theoretical framework that describes the social worth of a microfinance organization in terms of the depth, worth to users, cost to users, breadth, length, and scope of its output. We then analyze evidence of depth of outreach for five microfinance organizations in Bolivia. Most...