For students:

TA5 Microfinance and Development (5 cr)

–

Code:
ECOK-278
Field:
Development Economics
Target:
Bachelor's students
Organiser:
University of Helsinki - Economics
Instructor:
Ashim Kar
Period:
Period 3
Format:
Lecture
Method:
Contact teaching
Venue:
Economicum building
Enrollment:
Sisu How to enroll?

In case of conflicting information consider the Sisu/Courses/Moodle pages the primary source of information.

Content

The course covers the key topics in microfinance and is organised in four major parts. The first part of the course will cover issues important for understanding different microfinance markets. The second part of the course will assess financial and social performance of microfinance institutions. Student will apply tools used in practice by analysts or microfinance managers. In the third part, policies to build inclusive financial systems will be examined. Topics in this part include financial sector policies in general and microfinance regulation and supervision in particular. In the fourth part, we will cover the financing issues and commercialization of microfinance. Particular emphasis will be given to microfinance mission drift, market saturation and competition as well as over-indebtedness and repayment crises in different microfinance markets.

Teaching

  • Completion method: contact teaching
  • Language: English
  • Schedule: can be found in Course Page and Sisu
  • Study materials: can be found in Moodle
    • For some courses, it is enough to register in Sisu and you can access directly the Moodle area, please note, however, that it may take up to two hours after registration to enter the Moodle area.
    • Log in with your UH username to be able to use all the features of the course workspace
    • More tips for enrolling in Moodle can be found here

Please register for the course in the UH Sisu with your UH username. Further instructions can be found here.

University-specific instructions

Aalto University Students
  • Code: no equivalent code
  • Target groups: BSc
  • Credit points: 5
  • Credit transfer: apply for inclusion in Sisu

Further instructions can be found here.

Hanken Students
  • Code: no equivalent code
  • Target groups: BSc
  • Credit points: 5
  • Credit transfer: apply for inclusion in Sisu

Further instructions can be found here.

University of Helsinki Students
  • Code: ECOK-278
  • Target groups: BSc
  • Credit points: 5
  • YET students: Before taking and completing this course make sure that the credits can be counted towards your degree by checking which courses are/can be included in your curriculum. You can also contact your planning officer Simo Riikonen (firstname.lastname@helsinki.fi).

Learning outcomes

After completing the course students should be able to understand the main features of microfinance and how it works if credit markets fail. Students should be able to analyse theoretical perspectives and debates on microfinance to practice and policy situations, evaluate the impacts of microfinance and identify the implications of commercialisation and mission drift in microfinance. Students will also gain the skills required for completing other courses in economics in general and development economics in particular.