Refinancing MFIs with market power: theory and evidence

Microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs) play an increasingly important role as a source of funding for microfinance institutions (MFIs). This paper presents theory and evidence on the relation between the use of MIV capital and MFI market power. We present a model in which MIVs are social-minded in that they do not lend to MFIs which exploit their market power in the market for microcredit. Consistent with the theoretical model, we find empirically that measures of MFI market power are negatively related to the likelihood of using MIV capital. This suggests that MIVs play an effective role in promoting social objectives in microfinance.