The Art of Microfinancing

Posted by rindae on Apr 18, 2010 in Economics, Educate, Money & Finance | 0 comments

As the saying goes, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” Microfinance, referred to as banking for the poor, is used as a means of alliviating poverty which corresponds to this moral. Microfinancing institutions do not directly fuel aid but providing means for a person to become self sufficient. Microfinance institutions educate local communities, provide financial and social services, collect loans, and assist clients.

The Way Things Work

Microfinance institutions grant small loans to borrowers who pay it back with interest gradually and then the loan is loaned again, recycling through the system of borrowers. These loans are camparatively smaller than the average loan. High interest rates act as compensation for these small loan sizes. The repayment rate is from 95 to 98 percent. Unlike the regular banking system, clients are not required to pay collateral. Microfinance institutions support the well being of clients every step of the way, providing center meetings to discuss business ideas and building a mutual relationship between the client and the institution.

Eligibility and Partiality

Microfinancing institutions mainly serve very poor people residing in rural areas who struggle to meet living conditions everyday.  People not within this generaliztion should not get discouraged as countless others are eligible for grants as well. Women statistically are better at managing finance better than men, using their income mainly on family expenses for better living conditions, especially education for their children, and therefore are more inclined to recieving aid.

Your Role

There are many public institutions of which people are able to support borrowers such as http://www.kiva.org/.  Upon transfering money into the system, supporters are able to read client profiles and choose which client they would like to lend money to. Loans are paid back gradually, usually on a monthly basis. Money comes back into your account and is free to be loaned again! Note that sometimes borrowers fail to meet this paying schedule so chooing a client with a reliable reputation is crucial.

Microfinancing is commended for being a highly fruitful endevour for addressing poverty. A 1998 World Bank study showed that, in Bangladesh, Grameen Bank’s clients were escaping poverty at the rate of 10,000 per month. Lenders become part of a recycling system in which they can support countless people with one donation which goes to show “a little bit goes a long way.”

Ang Kahulugan ng Ekonomiks

Posted by Kevin Paquet on Jun 28, 2008 in Economics | 104 comments

Since at the school that I’m attending we are using our Philippine Language (Tagalog) in the discussion of Social Studies, I’ll gonna apply the same language to this lesson that I’ll be taken from my book. Sorry for the English people.

Ano ang Ekonomiks?

• Ang ekonomiks ay agham na tumatalakay produksyon at distribusyon ng yaman ng bansa.
• Ang ekonomiks ay agham-panlipunang tumatalakay sa kung paano maaaring maipluwensyiyahan ang isang tao dahil sa sistema ng ekonomiya.
• Ang ekonomiks ay agham-panlipunang tumatalakay sa pagpili ng likas na yaman kung saaan sagana ang isang pamahalaan.
• Ang ekonomiks ay isang agham na nag-aaral sa gawi ng taong may kinalaman sa ugnayan ng pangangailangan at kakapusang may alternatibong gamit.
• Ang ekonomiks ay pag-aaral ng sangkatauhan sa pangkakaraniwang pang-araw-araw na buhay. Sinusuri nito ang bahagi ng kilos ng tao at pangkahalatang iniuugnay sa pagkakamit at paggamit ng pangunahing pangangailangang materyal ng tao.
• Ang ekonomiks ay ang pag-aaral kung paano tinustustusan ng tao o lipinan ang walang hanggang pangangailangan at kagustuhan sa pamamagitan ng mahusay na alokasyon o pagbabaha-bahagi ng pinagkukunang-yaman.

Ang mga nabanggit ay ilan sa mga kahulugang ibinagay ng ilang mga libro para sa asignaturang ekonomiks. Bagama’t tama ang lahat, iba-iba ang pananaw ng bawat isa ukol sa asignatura. Maari nating kunin ang mahahalagang puntos ng bawat isa sa pagbuo ng sarili nating kahuluguhan.

Ang isang makabuluhang kahulugan ng ekonomiks ay maaring hatiin sa apat na mahahalagang bahagi:

• Isang agham-panlipunan
• Limitadong yaman
• Mga pangangailangan at walang katapusang hilig at luho ng tao
• Lubusang paggamit.

Ang ekonomiks ay isang agham dahil ginagamitan ito ng mga tsart, grap, at matematika sa mga pagsusuring ukol dito. Higit pa rito ay sinusunod nito ang mga pamamaraan ng palulutas sa mga suliraning iginawad sa sangkatauhan ni Sir Francis Bacon, ang scientific method. Gaya ng ibang mga agham, naniniwala ang ekonomiks sa kalipunan ng mga hakbang na dapat isagawa upang malutas ang mga suliranin sa asignaturang ito. Kinakailangan muna tukuyin ang problema, gumawa ng hypotheses, mag-obserba at kumalap ng mga datos, bago guamawa ng konklusyon. Sa tulong ng pamamaraang ito lamang, ayon kay Bacon, maari nating masiguro ang mga konklusyong ating binubuo bilang kalutasan sa mga suliranin.

Kung ang kailangan nyo, ang bumuo ng isa pang kahulugan ng ekonomiks gamit ang sariling salita, oh ang apat na bahagi na binigay namin sa itaas, maari nyong magamit ang kahulugan na binuo namin na base sa apat na mahahalagahang bahagi nito: Ang ekonomiks ay isang agham-panlipunan na tumatalakay sa limitadong yaman, mga pangangailangan at walang katapusang luho ng tao, at sa lubusang paggamit ng mga yaman ng mundo.