The effect of microfinance on income inequality: Perspective of developing countries
Aim/purpose – Studying the impact of microfinance on income inequality from a macro- -economic perspective. Design/methodology/approach – Cross-sectional regression analysis is used to measure the effect of microfinance on the Gini index in a sample of 30 developing countries from across Africa, Asi...
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doaj-34c2031fa4674a2d95a056b29c05b6512020-11-24T20:45:01ZengPublishing House of the University of Economics in KatowiceJournal of Economics and Management1732-19481732-19482019-03-01351406210.22367/jem.2019.35.03The effect of microfinance on income inequality: Perspective of developing countriesIsraa Ali Mahmoud Ali0Hebatallah Ghoneim1Department of Economics, Faculty of Management Technology, German University in Cairo, Cairo, EgyptDepartment of Economics, Faculty of Management Technology, German University in Cairo, Cairo, EgyptAim/purpose – Studying the impact of microfinance on income inequality from a macro- -economic perspective. Design/methodology/approach – Cross-sectional regression analysis is used to measure the effect of microfinance on the Gini index in a sample of 30 developing countries from across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Europe. A set of control variables are added to the model including: inflation, educational attainment, democracy, population growth, percentage of arable land to strengthen the model’s reliability. Findings – Results indicate that neither a positive nor a negative impact of microfinance on Gini index could be significantly proved for the sample countries. Research implications/limitations – Due to lack of data availability, research is con-ducted on a small sample of 30 countries. Therefore, to obtain more generalisable results, it is recommended for future research to use a larger sample. Originality/value/contribution – Microfinance is becoming a focal issue in alleviating poverty and inequality, and this paper’s main contribution is that it explores this matter from a macro-economic perspective by looking at the holistic impact of microcredit on a sample of developing countries. Hence, the paper provides further investigation and suggestions for a better implementation of microfinance policies.https://www.ue.katowice.pl/fileadmin/user_upload/wydawnictwo/JEM_Artyku%C5%82y_31_60/JEM_35/03.pdfdeveloping countriesincome inequalitymicrocreditmicrofinance |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Israa Ali Mahmoud Ali Hebatallah Ghoneim |
spellingShingle |
Israa Ali Mahmoud Ali Hebatallah Ghoneim The effect of microfinance on income inequality: Perspective of developing countries Journal of Economics and Management developing countries income inequality microcredit microfinance |
author_facet |
Israa Ali Mahmoud Ali Hebatallah Ghoneim |
author_sort |
Israa Ali Mahmoud Ali |
title |
The effect of microfinance on income inequality: Perspective of developing countries |
title_short |
The effect of microfinance on income inequality: Perspective of developing countries |
title_full |
The effect of microfinance on income inequality: Perspective of developing countries |
title_fullStr |
The effect of microfinance on income inequality: Perspective of developing countries |
title_full_unstemmed |
The effect of microfinance on income inequality: Perspective of developing countries |
title_sort |
effect of microfinance on income inequality: perspective of developing countries |
publisher |
Publishing House of the University of Economics in Katowice |
series |
Journal of Economics and Management |
issn |
1732-1948 1732-1948 |
publishDate |
2019-03-01 |
description |
Aim/purpose – Studying the impact of microfinance on income inequality from a macro- -economic perspective. Design/methodology/approach – Cross-sectional regression analysis is used to measure the effect of microfinance on the Gini index in a sample of 30 developing countries from across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Europe. A set of control variables are added to the model including: inflation, educational attainment, democracy, population growth, percentage of arable land to strengthen the model’s reliability.
Findings – Results indicate that neither a positive nor a negative impact of microfinance on Gini index could be significantly proved for the sample countries.
Research implications/limitations – Due to lack of data availability, research is con-ducted on a small sample of 30 countries. Therefore, to obtain more generalisable results, it is recommended for future research to use a larger sample. Originality/value/contribution – Microfinance is becoming a focal issue in alleviating poverty and inequality, and this paper’s main contribution is that it explores this matter from a macro-economic perspective by looking at the holistic impact of microcredit on a sample of developing countries. Hence, the paper provides further investigation and suggestions for a better implementation of microfinance policies. |
topic |
developing countries income inequality microcredit microfinance |
url |
https://www.ue.katowice.pl/fileadmin/user_upload/wydawnictwo/JEM_Artyku%C5%82y_31_60/JEM_35/03.pdf |
work_keys_str_mv |
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