We all like to know the truth, and we like to think that the more we know the better. With the revelation of the internet over the last 15-20 years, access to information has never been easier. But what crosses the line of TMI (too much information)? One might say that perhaps in modern times nothing is “too much” to be posted on the web. This ethos has paved the way for the generation of transparency. Recently this idea has come under scrutiny the world over, especially with the new publications on the website WikiLeaks, featured in a recent New York Times article.
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Posts Tagged ‘New York Times’
Transparency: What is the Best Approach?
Friday, August 13th, 2010Responsible Pricing: The State of the Practice
Thursday, August 5th, 2010by Jordan Filko
Yesterday the Smart Campaign published the paper “Responsible Pricing: The State of the Practice,” co-authored by MFTransparency Vice President Alexandra Fiorillo. We are proud to have contributed our research and guidance to the content of this paper, which outlines the progress of the microfinance industry toward transparent and responsible pricing.
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Explaining the Price Curve
Friday, May 14th, 2010If you have perused our data, you may have noticed the market average curve present on all our country graphs. This curve is so fundamental to MFTransparency that its characteristic downward slope is even represented in our logo. This is the curve relating interest rates to loan size, and it is extremely important in analyzing the price of microloan products. The recent New York Times article highlighted the high price that some MFIs charge in order to reap big financial gains from the poor. But it’s important to have a deeper understanding of this phenomenon: high prices don’t always mean big profits; the reason for high interest rates is more complex than this, as highlighted in this recent blog post from Elisabeth Rhyne at the Center for Financial Inclusion at ACCION International. The curve that MFTransparency uses to analyze loan rates is key in understanding pricing in microfinance. This blog post provides an overview of some of the informational materials that MFTransparency has come up with in order to help others understand pricing in microfinance.
No Place Like Home
Sunday, April 25th, 2010I find myself at home this weekend – Lancaster, PA. This is the first time I’ve been home in three weeks, and I’ll be leaving Monday morning for another two weeks. My latest trip took me completely around the globe – US to London to Nairobi (for the Microcredit Summit). From Nairobi I flew to Dubai and Delhi, to launch the India Pricing Transparency Initiative. I was scheduled to fly back via Frankfurt, but the volcano changed those plans. So instead I flew from Delhi to Bangkok to Tokyo to NY to DC.
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