The Handbook of Microfinance

While microfinance has the potential to improve the living standards of millions of poor people without access to financial services around the world, "there is a mismatch between microfinance products and what the unbanked poor really need to finance their investment and consumption needs on the one hand, and to save and insure themselves against idiosyncratic (and aggregate) shocks on the other," , according to Armendariz (economics, U. College London, England) and Labie (organization studies and management, U. of Mons, Belgium), who present 28 papers that they hope will collectively point the way towards overcoming that mismatch. The papers are presented in sections that provide context-specific survey data and analysis of microfinance practices around the world; discuss microfinance in the context of such macro-environmental issues as competition, regulation, and corporate governance; explore issues of commercialization of microfinance; and consider how to address unmet demand in agriculture, women's needs, and educational needs. Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)