A research mention in “Vårt Land”

The Norwegian newspaper Vårt Land writes in the Monday issue (October 17, 2016 p. 8-9) about my research in an article with the title “Therefore microfinance is not that effective” (Derfor er mikrofinans lite effektivt). While my findings do find that microfinance does add extra income to an individual´s business, it also shows that size can act as a counterbalancing factor such that income actually is reduced with increased sized. The economies of scale are in other words negative in the early phase of the firm. My research also points to the fact that growth in sales or assets does not seem to be related to taking on microloans. This is not controversial. What is obvious and perhaps more relevant from my research is that the level of financial literacy among poor microentrepreneurs is VERY low, and then one should take into account that the clients I surveyed were not the poorest of the poor, but merely poor. Little research is still however done in this area, and much more is needed. There is even research pointing towards the odd fact that those with more education actually do worse. This

Little research is still however done in this area, and much more is needed. There is even research finding in some informal economies that those with more education actually do worse (Honig, 1998). This is counterintuitive, and much more research is needed here. I am currently working on a paper which looks at the role of Financial Literacy, Role Models and how these two concepts affect firm performance in the informal economy. Research in the left tail of human capital among the poorest individuals on the planet is still in its infancy, but over time we will eventually learn how to effectively lift the human capital and sustain individuals in an improved economic state. The practical example of MTI Investments, and other pioneering firms, financing small and medium-sized firms, may be leading the way in this regard, where more investments are allocated towards small and medium sized firms, rather than mostly microenterprises today.