12/17/2006

Microloans

I read an article about microloans in the New York Times. Microloans are a hot new topic in economics that allow people in les developed countries to get loans. Typically it is hard to get a loan in these countries because property ownership rights are shady, thus banks don't have very good collateral. Microloans work by using social pressure as a replacement of collateral enabling them to get a loan.

My concern is that the level of success that microloans have will vary greatly on a particular culture. Some cultures are more likely to have social structures that will motivate than others.

Here is the link to the article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/10/business/worldbusiness/10scene.html?ex=1312862400&en=f61d24534e36d822&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss

5 comments:

Dr. Tufte said...

Microloans are actually an old topic in economics - for example, I published research on them in 1996, and BYU has had a microloan center for several years.

As to your concern, there are cultural issues that affect repayment rates, but generally they have been found to be tolerable by lenders.

William said...

Dr. Tufte,
Microloans are an old topic. But, it has recently gotten more press which has helped it to gain some recognition. For example there was a Noble Prize given out to a man in Bangladesh for his bank that did micro-lending. Also Oprah and many other celebrities have helped to donate money in this area.

Micro-lending although it has gained some press, I think that it should be discussed even more. We need these issues to be out and people need to recognize the needs that are around the world. I think so many times we as Americans are so closed off to the rest of the world and only think in terms of our country. Micro-lending is a concept that I personally wish we would talk about more in business and in life.

Dr. Tufte said...

I am so glad that you think this is old news.

When I did research on microloans in 1996-2001, no one knew what they were.

Anonymous said...

[b]VIAGRA Kaufen VIAGRA BILLIG PREISVERGLECH BESTELLEN[/b]
http://www.getsomeskillz.co.uk/forum/member.php?u=13
[b]VIAGRA alternativ REZEPTFREI VIAGRA[/b]
VIAGRA BESTELLEN eur 0.85 Pro Pille >> Klicken Sie Hier << BESTELLEN BILLIG VIAGRA CIALIS VIAGRA® kaufen Kaufen Viagra in Deutschland
http://cafesuoimo.com/member.php?u=8
[b]VIAGRA im internet kaufen VIAGRA REZEPTFREI BILLIG[/b]
[url=http://www.barroco.comyr.com/member.php?u=3]VIAGRA Deutschland[/url] - VIAGRA rezeptfrei
[b]VIAGRA online kaufen VIAGRA REZEPTFREI BESTELLEN[/b]
[b]VIAGRA Austria BESTELLEN PREISVERGLECH VIAGRA[/b]
[url=http://www.noise-unltd.com/member.php?u=2 ]VIAGRA Holland[/url] - VIAGRA Kaufen
[b]VIAGRA Kaufen VIAGRA[/b]
[b]VIAGRA prices PREISVERGLECH VIAGRA BESTELLEN[/b]

Anonymous said...

http://www.djmal.net/thaspot/members/viagrakaufend
[b]VIAGRA information VIAGRA PREISVERGLECH BILLIG[/b]
http://www.serataanime.it/forum2/member.php?u=336
[b]VIAGRA prices VIAGRA BESTELLEN PREISVERGLECH[/b]
VIAGRA BESTELLEN eur 0.85 Pro Pille >> Klicken Sie Hier << BESTELLEN BILLIG VIAGRA CIALIS VIAGRA online kaufen Preiswerter Viagra
http://www.barroco.comyr.com/member.php?u=3
[b]VIAGRA Austria PREISVERGLECH VIAGRA[/b]
[url=http://www.einvestorhelp.com/member.php?u=37776]VIAGRA REZEPTFREI BILLIG[/url] - PFIZER VIAGRA
[b]VIAGRA Kaufen VIAGRA BESTELLEN[/b]
[b]FREE VIAGRA VIAGRA PREISVERGLECH BILLIG[/b]
[url=http://www.zonatuning.com/members/viagrakaufend]VIAGRA[/url] - VIAGRA
[b]VIAGRA prices BESTELLEN VIAGRA[/b]
[b]VIAGRA® kaufen VIAGRA PREISVERGLECH BILLIG[/b]
[b]VIAGRA® kaufen
VIAGRA Deutschland
VIAGRA online kaufen
VIAGRA on line
VIAGRA alternativ
VIAGRA rezeptfrei
VIAGRA Kaufen
VIAGRA Apotheke[/b]