Microfinance and Poverty -A Macro Perspective

Katsushi Imai, Raghav Gaiha, Ganesh Thapa and Samuel Annim
Additional contact information
Raghav Gaiha: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA) and Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi (India)
Ganesh Thapa: International Fund for Agricultural Development, Italy

No DP2010-33, Discussion Paper Series from Research Institute for Economics & Business Administration, Kobe University

Abstract: Building on the recent literature on finance, growth and hunger, we have examined the experience of Asian countries over the last five decades, using dynamic panel models. Although the results are mixed, depending on the specification and variables used, there is some evidence favouring a positive role of finance in growth of GDP and agricultural value added. While financial development reduces income inequality, the effects on hunger are not so robust. Although microfinance has considerable potential for ameliorating deprivation, the contraction of credit and risk aversion of investors, together with a faltering global recovery, underlie gloomy prospects for the poor in Asia.

Keywords: Finance; Economic Development; Agriculture; Inequality; Poverty; Asia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C33 E44 G01 I32 O15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 35 pages
Date: 2010-11
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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https://www.rieb.kobe-u.ac.jp/academic/ra/dp/English/DP2010-33.pdf First version, 2010 (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: Microfinance and Poverty—A Macro Perspective (2012)
Working Paper: Microfinance and Poverty -A Macro Perspective (2010)
Working Paper: Microfinance and Poverty A Macro Perspective (2010)
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