The last decade has been marked by the resurgence of leftist political movements across Latin America. The rise of the 'New Left' masks the ambivalent relationships these movements have with broader society, and their struggle to find an alternative to the prevailing development model. Across the continent, the microfinance sector, filling the void left by failed public banks, has grown significantly under an increasingly commercial form. Analysis of Nicaragua, Ecuador and Bolivia reveals that the new governments share a common distrust of microfinance. Yet, in the absence of viable alternatives for financial service provision, governments and microfinance stakeholders are forced to coexist. The environment in which they do so varies greatly, depending on local political and institutional factors. Some common trends can nevertheless be discerned. Paradoxically, the sector seems to be polarized into two competing approaches which reinforce the most commercially-oriented institutions on the one hand, and the most subsidized ones on the other, gradually eliminating the economically viable microfinance institutions which have tried to strike a balance between social objectives and the market.
[eng] François Doligez — Micro-finance and economic dynamics : What effects after ten years of financial innovations ? . This article examines some questions related to the impact of micro-finance on the « real sphere » : who has access to credit ? Does it improve revenues and investments and therefore the local economy or, on the contrary, does it induce negative effects on the consumption and the living levels of the borrowers ? The article is based on fieldwork concerning three rural micro-credit networks in Benin, in Guinea and in Nicaragua. The comparative analysis of more than 3 000 surveys brings to light the ambivalent development of access to credits and illustrates, beyond standardised methods that are frequently used, the importance of socioeconomic effects.
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