Alleviating poverty through microfinance: Village banking outcomes in Central America

AbstractOur research reports on Brigham Young University (BYU) field studies carried out in Central America to assess the impacts of village banking on indigenous families. We first introduce the growing movement of microfinance institutions (MFIs), organizations that provide small loans as start-up capital for the unemployed poor in Central America. We briefly describe the native nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that allocate their financial resources. Our methods are described and the survey instrument we created is analyzed, as well as the process of data collection. Finally, we report our findings and interpret their conclusions and implications, as well as suggest further studies on poverty alleviation. AcknowledgementsThe authors express appreciation to the Marriott School, Brigham Young University, for financial support in conducting these field studies in Central America.