20 Years of Research in Microfinance: An Information Management Approach

Begoña Gutiérrez Nieto and Carlos Serrano-Cinca
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Begoña Gutiérrez-Nieto

No 19-005, Working Papers CEB from ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles

Abstract: In the last 20 years, microfinance has moved from a promise to reality, although with ups and downs. This paper reviews 1,874 papers published from 1997 to 2017 to perform a scientometric analysis of the microfinance field. The literature review is based on bibliometric data: keyword co-occurrence networks and citation networks were exploited for knowledge mapping. Data analysis shows the two research traditions: papers focusing on clients (welfarists) and papers focusing on microfinance entities themselves (institutionalists). Institutionalism, which had little presence in the early research in microfinance, now exhibits great strength. A chronological analysis reveals the evolution of the topics most interesting to researchers: the first stage described the innovations of the microcredit practices and their impact; the second and very expansive stage in which microfinance institutions’ peculiarities were analyzed; and nowadays the sector is mature but with negative aspects arising, such as mission drift. The keywords analysis discovers emerging research topics, shows the use of sophisticated techniques, and recognizes an emerging trend of the sector: achieving financial inclusion.

Keywords: Microfinance; Microcredit; Literature review; Scientometrics; Welfarism; Institutionalism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: B21 C83 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 37 p.
Date: 2019-03-05
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-fle, nep-his, nep-hpe and nep-mfd
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (20)

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Journal Article: 20 years of research in microfinance: An information management approach (2019)
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