Poverty & Public Policy, a journal published by the Policy Studies Organization (PSO), a US-based policy think tank, has announced the release of a paper titled, “Microfinance, Commercialization and Ethics” by Reinhard Schmidt of Germany’s Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universitat Frankfurt am Main. The author focuses on the evolution of microfinance from a “welfare-oriented activity” to a sector of commercial banking and argues that the continued transformation of microfinance into the commercial realm is the only way it will achieve significant social and developmental impact. In examining the benefits of commercialization, the author also scrutinizes the possible consequences of commercialization and attempts to distinguish when it “has gone too far.” The author attempts to show how microfinance institutions (MFIs) can balance commercialization with a focus on development [1].

By Diana Baide, Research Assistant

[1] Poverty & Public Policy. “Microfinance, Commercialization and Ethics” by Reinhard Schmidt, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universitat Frankfurt am Main

http://www.psocommons.org/ppp/vol2/iss1/art6/