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IJED Articles 
Microcredit: An Institutional Development Opportunity
DOUGLAS SNOW
IJED, Vol. 1 No. 1,
(1999)
The development of microcredit programs provides an opportunity to strengthen local institutions. Research has focused on the design and management of microcredit programs without enough attention to the institutional environment in which microcredit programs operate. Theory offers a framework for understanding the importance of linkages between microcredit programs and local institutions. These linkages lead to sustainability. Broadly defined, sustainability refers to a net positive flow of benefits to the local community. Microcredit programs embedded in local institutions have the best hope of becoming sustainable.
