Date of Award
5-2017
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Departmental Honors
Department
Economics and Finance
Abstract
Microfinance for-profit organizations flooded the market in the early 2000's when microcredit demonstrated profitability. Ever since, an intense debate arose contesting the morality of profiting from the poor. Many for-profit microfinance institutions were accused of predatory lending through high interest rates and aggressive marketing and payment collection. In this paper, I examine the validity of the arguments for and against for-profits by extensively comparing the different target audiences of the charity sector and the private sector and the main arguments of each side. I conclude that, although the ability to serve the poor is compromised by profit motives, for-profit microfinance organizations are serving a different market—and a much needed one—than nonprofits. Therefore, for-profits serve a function that, as of right now, nonprofits are not able to.
Recommended Citation
de Oliveira Crevelari, Hane E., "A Different Perspective on the Debate Between Nonprofit and For-Profit Microfinance Organizations" (2017). Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects. 210.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/honors/210
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Faculty Mentor
Ben Blau
Departmental Honors Advisor
Shannon Peterson
Capstone Committee Member
Kristine Miller