The agenda and relevance of recent research in Microfinance

Mersland, Roy (2005): The agenda and relevance of recent research in Microfinance.

Abstract

This paper studies recent research efforts in the field of microfinance. Two questions guide the study: What is the agenda of recent research efforts? And, for who is the research relevant? As for the agenda the “yin and yang” of microfinance; impact and sustainability, continue to influence most research efforts. The study illustrates that microfinance attracts mainly the interest of development researchers and journals. Accordingly the researchers seem mainly to interact with the donors’ and practitioners’ communities. The research produced seems to be relevant for them and less so for the governmental and banking communities. The paper concludes proposing the design of a new research agenda, this time in cooperation with the banking community.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Institution: Agder University College, Norway
• Language: English
• Keywords: Microfinance; mode 2; research agenda; research relevance
• Subjects: G - Financial Economics > G2 - Financial Institutions and Services > G21 - Banks ; Depository Institutions ; Micro Finance Institutions ; Mortgages; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development > O16 - Financial Markets ; Saving and Capital Investment ; Corporate Finance and Governance