Ströh de Martínez, C. (2011): Finance for the poor in demand: Who uses microfinance and why?
To contribute to the debate on the role of microfinance in poverty reduction, we explored how prevailing assumptions about microfinance users shape current controversies. Our research analysed common notions of clients and their use of financial services and proposed a new theoretical framework based on the concept of Structural Heterogeneity.
By linking this framework with Schumpeter’s theory of economic development and insights from Financial Diary studies, we developed a fresh perspective on the demand side of microfinance. The analysis highlights the importance of understanding diverse socioeconomic contexts and shows that for many family-led microenterprises, flexible, multi-purpose financial services are essential for effective financial management and livelihood resilience.
Link: https://www.econstor.eu/handle/10419/59312