ECO 196: Topics in Microfinance
Fall 2008
Instructor: Karen Hicks (Martindale Center)
The primary objective of this one-credit seminar is to deepen students’ knowledge of an innovative strategy for poverty alleviation and development known as microfinance by bringing them face-to-face with some of the leading practitioners in the field. Microfinance, a development approach that aims to offer basic financial services to those living in poverty including small-scale loans, savings accounts, insurance and other products, is currently the dominant paradigm among development agencies. This seminar will introduce students to some recent debates in the field of microfinance and focuses on questions of sustainability. You will have the unique opportunity to discuss your ideas with a series of invited speakers.
Students are expected to attend all scheduled seminar meetings (Wednesdays, 3:00-4:00 p.m.), to complete assigned readings, to write down comments and questions, and to actively participate in class discussion. We want to encourage you to bring knowledge gained from other courses to our discussion and to find topics of special interest related to microfinance.
Seminar Requirements:
Attendance and participation in seminar discussions: 50%
Paper (4-5 pp.): 50%
Useful weblinks for microfinance resources:
ACCION International: http://www.accion.org
CGAP: http://www.cgap.org
Fonkoze: http://www.fonkoze.org
Microcredit Summit: http://www.microcreditsummit.org/declaration.htm
Microfinance Gateway: http://www.microfinancegateway.org
Micro-Save Africa: http://www.microsave-africa.com
PlanetFinance: http://www.planetfinance.org
The Mix: http://www.themix.org
MFI Rating Fund: http://www.mfirating.org
USAID Microfinance: http://www.microlinks.org
Women’s World Banking: http://www.swwb.org
World Council of Credit Unions: http://www.woccu.org
The Journal of Microfinance (contains articles and case studies from around the world): www.microjournal.com