Microlending in Western Europe

Microfinance started as a regionally practised ideain the Southern hemisphere that turned out to becomea major development movement replicated on fivecontinents. Its idea stems from a simple but crucialquestion: Why do poor people often stay poor?As microfinance is perceived to help people to becomeself-supporting, it was only a matter of time that itwould also gain prominence in industrialisedcountries. Yet, whereas microfinance institutions indeveloping countries often provide a broad range offinancial services, organisations in Western Europefocus on microlending. How can this be explained?What constitutes differences between the models?Which variables determine differences of microlendinginstitutions (MLIs) on a national European level?The book analyses the concept of microlending inthree Western European countries - France, Spain andGermany - by assessing relevant conditionsdetermining the performance of MLIs based on thehypothesis that economic activity depends onentrepreneurial culture, the social-political contextand a regulated framework to co-determine economicsuccess.It addresses representatives of lobby groups, NGOsand political economist.

Autorentext

Ulrike Lorenz graduated from the ERASMUS MUNDUS Masters' Programme 'Global Studies' in 2007 and was appointed Lecturer at the Department of Political Science at the University of Vienna. As of 2008, she also teaches at the University of Leipzig and is writing her PhD on the Economic Partnership Agreements between the EU and Southern Africa.

Klappentext
Microfinance started as a regionally practised idea in the Southern hemisphere that turned out to become a major development movement replicated on five continents. Its idea stems from a simple but crucial question: Why do poor people often stay poor? As microfinance is perceived to help people to become self-supporting, it was only a matter of time that it would also gain prominence in industrialised countries. Yet, whereas microfinance institutions in developing countries often provide a broad range of financial services, organisations in Western Europe focus on microlending. How can this be explained? What constitutes differences between the models? Which variables determine differences of microlending institutions (MLIs) on a national European level? The book analyses the concept of microlending in three Western European countries - France, Spain and Germany - by assessing relevant conditions determining the performance of MLIs based on the hypothesis that economic activity depends on entrepreneurial culture, the social-political context and a regulated framework to co-determine economic success. It addresses representatives of lobby groups, NGOs and political economist.