Inclusive Growth: Improving Microfinance Regulation to Support Growth and Innovation in Micro-enterprise

包容性增长：完善小额信贷监管，支持微型企业的成长和创新

• 批准号: ES/J009369/2
• 负责人: Alison Brown
• 金额: $ 36万
• 依托单位: CARDIFF UNIVERSITY
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2013 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=ES%2FJ009369%2F2
• 关键词: Inclusive; Growth; Improving; Microfinance; Regulation

Micro-enterprises in low-income economies employ hundreds of millions of poor people and make crucial contributions to economic growth, many operating outside the formal economy. In developing countries, where the formal economy cannot provide sufficient jobs, micro-enterprise is critical to the survival of the urban poor, and a key platform for urban economic growth.Increasingly urban growth is taking place in secondary towns, which are not well researched, and where micro-enterprises thrive in economic growth sectors. For example, in 2011 half the world's tin production came from artisanal mining. Similarly, construction is a common entry sector into urban employment and widely reliant on own-account workers and work gangs. The rapid growth in importing consumer goods from the far East to Africa has attracted hundreds of thousands to street-vending; the growth in tourism to Africa has seen many micro-entrepreneurs take up the manufacture and sale of curios and other tourism services; while growing numbers of urban and rural households are involved in the processing of fishery or agriculture produce. However, recent evidence suggests that, even when involved in economic growth sectors, micro-entrepreneurs face significant barriers in implementing innovations and expanding their businesses-level trading. Two reasons which have been put forward are the obstacles to accessing capital and other financial services; and the detrimental impact of unregulated services and lack of consumer protection on their businesses. Thus the growth of microfinance has raised concerns. Significant numbers of borrowers are now over-indebted to a point where they can never repay, as a result of overselling of loans, competition amongst providers, and surplus liquidity. Problems in India have been widely reported, with a spate of suicides, for example in Andhra Pradesh, by borrowers caught in a spiral of debt. At the other extreme, in Africa recent research indicates that micro-entrepreneurs are not accessing the growing microfinance sector, prevented by a combination of unsuitable products and lack of trust in the system.This research examines microfinance regulation, microfinance services and micro-enterprises in five economic growth sectors (retailing, construction, mining, food processing and tourism service) in secondary towns of five countries (Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda and Ethiopia in Africa and Andhra Pradesh in India), to answer the key question: By what mechanisms and under what regulatory conditions, do micro-finance services facilitate grassroots, micro-enterprise growth in economic growth sectors? The hypothesis of the research is that poor national and local regulation and supervision of MFIs, and lack of safety nets, in particular national consumer protection regulations for MFI customers, may either limit the accessibility and take-up of microfinance services, or result in excessive burdens of debt for poor borrowers. Thus, lack of consumer protection regulations for MFI services inhibits micro-enterprises from innovation and growth. The research is explored through comparative case studies in Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, Ethiopia and India.The research objectives are to understand and comparatively analyse:1) National and local policies on consumer protection in micro-finance provision, and in the case study cities:2) implementation of consumer protection mechanisms inherent in types of micro-finance package available; 3) the availability of micro-finance and impact on micro-enterprises' growth of alternative types of micro-finance;4) barriers to and benefits of take-up of micro-finance services experienced by micro-enterprises;in order to deepen understanding and inform national and international practice among all stakeholders, as well as theoretical debate:5) on consumer protection policy in microfinance, competing micro-finance models, financial inclusion, and micro-enterprise growth.

低收入经济体的微型企业雇用了数亿穷人，为经济增长做出了重要贡献，其中许多企业在正规经济之外运营。在正规经济无法提供足够就业机会的发展中国家，微型企业对城市贫民的生存至关重要，也是城市经济增长的关键平台。城市增长越来越多地发生在二线城镇，而这些城市的研究还不够充分，而微型企业在经济增长领域蓬勃发展。例如，2011年，世界上一半的锡产量来自手工采矿。同样，建筑业是城市就业的常见进入行业，广泛依赖自营工人和工队。从远东到非洲进口消费品的快速增长吸引了数十万人到街头贩卖；非洲旅游业的增长促使许多微型企业家从事古玩和其他旅游服务的制造和销售；与此同时，越来越多的城乡家庭参与渔业或农产品加工。然而，最近的证据表明，即使参与经济增长领域，微型企业家在实施创新和扩大业务层面的贸易方面也面临重大障碍。提出的两个原因是获得资本和其他金融服务的障碍；不受监管的服务和缺乏消费者保护对其业务造成的不利影响。因此，小额信贷的增长引起了人们的担忧。由于贷款超额销售、提供者之间的竞争以及流动性过剩，大量借款人现在负债过多，以至于无法偿还。印度的问题已被广泛报道，例如在安得拉邦，借款人陷入债务螺旋式上升，导致大量自杀事件。在另一个极端，在非洲，最近的研究表明，由于不合适的产品和对系统缺乏信任，微型企业家无法进入不断增长的小额信贷部门。这项研究考察了五个国家（坦桑尼亚、坦桑尼亚、 非洲的肯尼亚、卢旺达和埃塞俄比亚，印度的安得拉邦），回答了一个关键问题：小额信贷服务通过什么机制、在什么监管条件下促进经济增长领域基层、微型企业的成长？该研究的假设是，国家和地方对小额信贷机构的监管不力，以及缺乏安全网，特别是针对小额信贷机构客户的国家消费者保护法规，可能会限制小额信贷服务的获取和使用，或导致贫困借款人的债务负担过重。因此，缺乏对小额信贷机构服务的消费者保护法规阻碍了微型企业的创新和发展。本研究通过坦桑尼亚、肯尼亚、卢旺达、埃塞俄比亚和印度的比较案例研究进行探索。研究目标是了解和比较分析：1）国家和地方小额信贷提供中的消费者保护政策，以及案例研究城市中的消费者保护政策：2）现有小额信贷方案类型中固有的消费者保护机制的实施； 3) 小额信贷的可获得性以及其他类型的小额信贷对微型企业发展的影响；4) 微型企业接受小额信贷服务所经历的障碍和好处；为了加深所有利益相关者的理解并为国内和国际实践以及理论辩论提供信息：5) 关于小额信贷中的消费者保护政策、竞争性小额信贷模式、金融包容性和 微型企业成长。

项目成果

Microfinance and Economic Growth: RWANDA

小额信贷与经济增长：卢旺达

• 发表时间: 2016
• 作者: Brown, A.

Microfinance and Poverty Alleviation in ETHIOPIA

埃塞俄比亚的小额信贷和扶贫

• 发表时间: 2016
• 作者: Mackie, P.

Livelihoods and urbanisation, Topic Guide: Evidence on Demand

生计和城市化，主题指南：按需证据

• 发表时间: 2016
• 作者: Brown A

Developing Entrepreneurship for Women and Youth in KENYA

发展肯尼亚妇女和青年的创业精神

• 发表时间: 2016
• 作者: Smith, A.

Inclusive Growth and Access to Micro-Credit: Financial inclusion in TANZANIA

包容性增长和获得小额信贷：坦桑尼亚的金融包容性

• 发表时间: 2016
• 作者: Brown, A.