In the News

june 24 , 2008- Jonathan Morduch on Marketplace

FAI Managing Director Jonathan Morduch talks to NPR's Marketplace about domestic microfinance.

To listen to the full interview - Marketplace

may 13, 2008- Dean Karlan featured on Marketplace

FAI Director Dean Karlan provides commentary for Marketplace on how microlending is a valuable tool, but how it needs more creativity to keep growing.

To read the full text and listen to commentary - Marketplace

april 19, 2008- Jonathan Morduch weighs in on Grameen America

FAI Director Jonathan Morduch weighs in on Grameen Bank's arrival in Queens, NY, and the challenges and opportunities it will face.

To read the full article - The National

To read the full article - New York Times

march 17, 2008- Jonathan Morduch's work quoted in the New Yorker

The article highlights the importance of stepping back from the rhetoric of microfinance and taking a close look at how financial access helps people better run their lives. It also underscores the importance of impact studies. In line with the new FAI paper on Indonesia ("The Unbanked"), the article highlights that small loans are used for a variety of purposes, not just for business investments. These include consumption smoothing, coping with crises, and paying for education.

In quoting Jonathan Morduch's work, it highlights that larger impacts on employment and economic growth might be found by lending to larger-scaled businesses - and that interventions beyond finance might, in some contexts, be critical to truly unlocking the potential of small-scale entrepreneurs.

To read the full article - New Yorker

march 9, 2008- Christina Barrineau featured in New York Times Magazine

While celebrities, particularly Hollywood celebrities, continue to play an important role in philanthropy, the nature of their role is changing. Stars like Natalie Portman are now playing an active role in the cause of their choice. Portman has become a leading advocate of microfinance and serves as FINCA's Ambassador.

Financial Access Initiative Managing Director, Christina Barrineau, talks about the impact of Portman's engagement on the image of microfinance in the latest New York Times Magazine article on "The Celebrity Solution".

The same issue features FAI Director Dean Karlan's work on philanthropy in the US (What Makes People Give?)

To read the full article - NYT Magazine

december 13, 2007- Microlending: It's No Cure-all

FAI Directors Jonathan Morduch and Dean Karlan weigh in on evidence surrounding the impact of microfinance in Business Week Online.

To read the full article - Business Week

december 13, 2007- Business Week Online Extra: Yunus Blasts Compartamos

FAI Directors Jonathan Morduch and Dean Karlan weigh in on evidence surrounding the impact of microfinance in Business Week Online. Karlan discusses his study on the effects of expanded access to credit. For additional comments by Morduch please see his recent article.

To read the full article - Business Week

december 7, 2007- Is Microfinance Too Rigid?

FAI Directors Dean Karlan and Sendhil Mullainathan discuss microfinance product design, randomised trials and the best available economic theory to find out exactly what works and why.

To read the full article - Real Clear Markets

november 14, 2007- Yale Economist Wins Highest U.S. Award for Young Researcher

Dean Karlan, FAI Director and assistant professor of economics at Yale, has been given a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the highest honor for beginning researchers in the United States.

Karlan is only the fourth economist to win the distinguished award since it was established in 1996 to recognize talented young scientists and engineers who “show exceptional potential for leadership at the frontiers of knowledge.” Karlan was chosen “for his outstanding contributions to the fields of behavioral, experimental, developmental and financial economics; and for providing students with hands-on experience in field experiments and international collaborations.”

To read the full article - Yale University

August 2, 2007- Ground-breaking research from FAI featured in the latest Economist

Development strategies often focus on expanding access to credit as a key component, and microfinance has grown rapidly due to this idea that expanding access to "traditional" entrepreneurial credit will help improve the welfare of the poor. There is less consensus on the role of consumer credit (often referred to as "pay day lending") in expansion initiatives, and many practitioners and policymakers are skeptical about this type of "unproductive" lending.

Financial Access Initiative researcher, Dean Karlan, and his co-author Jonathan Zinman of Dartmouth, have shed some light on this debate and their groundbreaking results are highlighted in this week's edition of the Economist.

To read the full article - Economist

august 1, 2006- Group Lending Efficiency Must be Improved

FAI Directors Dean Karlan and Sendhil Mullainathan in the Hindu Business Line

To read the full article - Hindu Business Line

april 29, 2004- Debate Stirs Over Tiny Loans for World's Poorest

Jonathan Morduch quoted in New York Times: Can very poor households get returns?