Impact of Microfinance on Poverty: A Case of Pakistan

Abstract

Present study examined the role played by microfinance in poverty alleviation using concepts like education of children, housing, security of food, expenditure by households and assets owned by households. A sample of 384 customers of four microfinance institutions was selected using multi-stage cluster sampling. The results reveal a positive and significant effect of microfinance programs on children education and household expenditure, whereas, there was no significant impact of microfinance on housing conditions, consumption of food items and ownership of household assets.