MFIs as motivated agents or financial maximizers? Latin American evidence from female portfolio share

Rodrigo de Oliveira Leite; Jamil Civitarese

doi:10.3362/1755-1986.18-00018

MFIs as motivated agents or financial maximizers? Latin American evidence from female portfolio share

Rodrigo de Oliveira Leite | Jamil Civitarese

We show that there is no causal relation between the percentage of female borrowers in an MFI portfolio and MFI financial outcomes, by using two Latin American samples. Moreover, we present evidence that MFIs are motivated agents that increase their percentage of female borrowers in order to help a segment of the population that is largely neglected. We also show the important role of non-profit MFIs in this regard.

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