Taking Stock of Microfinance: Does it really help the poor?

Date: Thursday, November 19, 2009 

Time: 6:30-8:30 pm

Location: Warren Hall, room 208

RSVP appreciated but not required: Please click here

 

While microfinance has been hailed as one of the most effective tools for development and poverty alleviation, critics of microfinance argue that microfinance institutions don't serve the poorest of the poor and may actually increase poverty by burdening the poor with unpayable debt.  From a donor perspective, such institutions may be financially unstable and may not deliver as well as promised on indicators of social well-being.  SIPA's Microfinance Working Group invites you to join us for a special panel discussion on the social impacts of microfinance: Taking Stock of Microfinance: Does it Really Help the Poor.

 

Panelists:

1.       Jonathan Morduch, Professor of Economics and Public Policy at NYU, Director of Financial Access Initiative, and leading researcher in the field of microfinance and impact evaluation.

2.       Richard Rosenberg, Senior Advisor to the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (a World Bank unit), former Deputy Director of USAID’s Center for Economic Growth.

3.       Micol Pistelli, Director of the Social Performance Program at the Mix Market .

4.       Janiece Green, Director of the Women's Market at Women's World Banking

Moderator: Louise Schneider, Vice President of Global Social Investment at Deutsche Bank and Former Senior Director of Capital Markets at Women’s World Banking.