Do African microfinance institutions need efficiency for financial stability and social outreach?
Microfinance institutions (MFIs) have the dual objective of providing social welfare and financial stability. We evaluated the financial efficiency of MFIs in sub-Saharan African countries by comparing their regional performances during the period 2004–2013. We addressed prevailing MFI heterogeneity...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Academy of Science of South Africa
2016-09-01
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| Series: | South African Journal of Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.sajs.co.za/article/view/3608 |
| _version_ | 1818304895840681984 |
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| author | Md A.K. Azad Susila Munisamy Abdul K.M. Masum Peter Wanke |
| author_facet | Md A.K. Azad Susila Munisamy Abdul K.M. Masum Peter Wanke |
| author_sort | Md A.K. Azad |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Microfinance institutions (MFIs) have the dual objective of providing social welfare and financial stability. We evaluated the financial efficiency of MFIs in sub-Saharan African countries by comparing their regional performances during the period 2004–2013. We addressed prevailing MFI heterogeneity by using the concept of ‘metafrontier’. The results showed that on an average, more than half the MFIs showed a drop in productivity. The measure of how much one country gets closer to or further away from world frontier technology is commonly known as the TGC score. In world frontier technology, East and South Asian countries have taken the lead (TGC score 1.0048) while sub-Saharan African countries lag behind (TGC score 1.0020). Most East and South Asian countries have a TGC score of 1, and most sub-Saharan African countries have a TGC score less than 1. This signifies that Asian countries lead world frontier technology and most African countries do not. The decomposition of efficiency scores showed that with regard to technical changes, African nations had progressed on average only 0.01%, and efficiency change scores had regressed by 0.59% annually.
Significance:
• First efficiency study on microfinance institutions and their heterogeneity in Africa.
• The results show robust discrimination among the efficiency scores. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T06:17:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2f960f0ca3ec485298ac9569055b58e0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1996-7489 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T06:17:58Z |
| publishDate | 2016-09-01 |
| publisher | Academy of Science of South Africa |
| record_format | Article |
| series | South African Journal of Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-2f960f0ca3ec485298ac9569055b58e02022-12-21T23:56:54ZengAcademy of Science of South AfricaSouth African Journal of Science1996-74892016-09-011129/108810.17159/sajs.2016/201504743608Do African microfinance institutions need efficiency for financial stability and social outreach?Md A.K. Azad0Susila Munisamy1Abdul K.M. Masum2Peter Wanke3Department of Applied Statistics, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaDepartment of Applied Statistics, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaDepartment of Administrative Studies and Politics, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaCOPPEAD Graduate Business School, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rua Paschoal Lemme, Rio de Janeiro, BrazilMicrofinance institutions (MFIs) have the dual objective of providing social welfare and financial stability. We evaluated the financial efficiency of MFIs in sub-Saharan African countries by comparing their regional performances during the period 2004–2013. We addressed prevailing MFI heterogeneity by using the concept of ‘metafrontier’. The results showed that on an average, more than half the MFIs showed a drop in productivity. The measure of how much one country gets closer to or further away from world frontier technology is commonly known as the TGC score. In world frontier technology, East and South Asian countries have taken the lead (TGC score 1.0048) while sub-Saharan African countries lag behind (TGC score 1.0020). Most East and South Asian countries have a TGC score of 1, and most sub-Saharan African countries have a TGC score less than 1. This signifies that Asian countries lead world frontier technology and most African countries do not. The decomposition of efficiency scores showed that with regard to technical changes, African nations had progressed on average only 0.01%, and efficiency change scores had regressed by 0.59% annually. Significance: • First efficiency study on microfinance institutions and their heterogeneity in Africa. • The results show robust discrimination among the efficiency scores.https://www.sajs.co.za/article/view/3608metafrontierdata envelopment analysisproductivityworld frontier technology |
| spellingShingle | Md A.K. Azad Susila Munisamy Abdul K.M. Masum Peter Wanke Do African microfinance institutions need efficiency for financial stability and social outreach? South African Journal of Science metafrontier data envelopment analysis productivity world frontier technology |
| title | Do African microfinance institutions need efficiency for financial stability and social outreach? |
| title_full | Do African microfinance institutions need efficiency for financial stability and social outreach? |
| title_fullStr | Do African microfinance institutions need efficiency for financial stability and social outreach? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Do African microfinance institutions need efficiency for financial stability and social outreach? |
| title_short | Do African microfinance institutions need efficiency for financial stability and social outreach? |
| title_sort | do african microfinance institutions need efficiency for financial stability and social outreach |
| topic | metafrontier data envelopment analysis productivity world frontier technology |
| url | https://www.sajs.co.za/article/view/3608 |
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