Geoffrey R. Archer

Publications (2)0 Total impact

• Source

  Available from: SSRN

  Article: Exploring Green Microfinance: An Analysis of Environmental Protection Language in Microfinance Lending Criteria

  Geoffrey R. Archer
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  ABSTRACT: This paper explores four different rationales for incorporating a concern for the natural environment into the practice of microfinance. A binomial descriptive content analysis investigates the incidence of this so-called ‘green microfinance’ in a sample of forty microfinance institutions (MFIs) whose lending criteria were publicly available. We conclude that although there might be several rationales to support the proliferation of green microfinance very few MFIs are embedding such a commitment into the structure of their financial products. The disconnect uncovered in this paper is important, because it suggests that ignoring the environment might correspondingly endanger the health of the very people microfinance is designed to help.
  Banking & Insurance eJournal. 07/2009;
• Source

  Available from: SSRN

  Article: Microfinance: Social Entrepreneurship? Commercial Entrepreneurship? Or Both?

  Geoffrey R. Archer
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  ABSTRACT: The emerging social entrepreneurship literature has loosely characterized microfinance as entrepreneurship or social entrepreneurship, omitting much needed rigor. Through a theoretical synthesis of the entrepreneurship and microfinance literatures we unpack three different groups of entrepreneurs involved in microfinance with very different motivations: Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) are social entrepreneurs; Borrowers are necessity entrepreneurs; and, as we confirm with a descriptive content analysis of a popular field apparatus catalog, device manufacturers are commercial entrepreneurs. Building on Austin, Stevenson & Wei-Skillern (2006) we advance our own framework that we believe more completely depicts the relationship between an entity's profit orientation and social entrepreneurship.
  ERPN: Microfinance (Sub-Topic). 02/2009;