| By: |
Marek Hudon (Centre Emile Bernheim, Solvay Business School, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels and Harvard University, Boston.) |
| Abstract: |
This article studies the role of norms and values in the microfinance sector.
Microfinance projects implemented in India use a wide range of different
organizational structures. A classification of the sector is proposed, mapping
the institutions along two axes: the profit motive (profit vs. not-for-profit)
and the decision making style (centralized vs. un-centralized). Some
Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) base their interactions on rigid norms or
rules; while others are based on values. We argue that the private sector will
tend to produce the operating rules of the microfinance system while the
not-for-profit institutions that are using an inclusive decision-making
process are more likely to influence the ethical norms in the sector.
Nevertheless, this classification is not static as recent events in
South-India shows that norms, such as the interest rates, can be politically
and emotionally invested to the point that they are about to become values in
the sector. |
| Keywords: |
microfinance, norms, values, India, inclusive |
| Date: |
2008–02 |
| URL: |
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sol:wpaper:08-006&r=mfd |