Includes bibliographical references.

1. Introduction / Mwangi S. Kimenyi, Robert C. Wieland and J. D. Von Pischke -- Pt. I. The Microfinance Market. 2. Do financial institutions have a role in assisting the poor? / Claudio Gonzalez-Vega. 3. Critical issues in microbusiness finance and the role of donors / Reinhard H. Schmidt and Claus-Peter Zeitinger -- Pt. II. Microfinance Program Design Strategies. 4. Microfinance: the paradigm shift from credit delivery to sustainable financial intermediation / Marguerite S. Robinson. 5. Altruistic or production finance? a donor's dilemma / Dale W. Adams. 6. Combining social and financial intermediation to reach the poor: the necessity and dangers / Lynn Bennett. 7. Balancing perspectives on informal finance / Otto Hospes. 8. Developing alternatives to informal finance and finding market niches / Carlos E. Cuevas. 9. Basing access on performance to create sustainable financial services for the poor in Nepal / Lynn Bennett, Mike Goldberg and J. D. Von Pischke --

Pt. III. Sustainability and Accountability in Microfinance. 10. Credit scoring to predict loan repayment performance: an application to rural customers in Burkina Faso / Laura Vigano. 11. Keys to financial sustainability / Robert Peck Christen. 12. Other people's money: regulatory issues facing microenterprise finance programs / Robert C. Vogel. 13. Measuring the performance of small enterprise lenders / J. D. Von Pischke. 14. A road map for financial stabilization of credit unions: the Guatemalan experience / David C. Richardson, Barry L. Lennon and Brian A. Branch.