Richard Rosenberg

Richard Rosenberg is a former senior advisor on policy issues and research at CGAP and has written or contributed to numerous CGAP publications. His areas of focus include interest rate issues, over-indebtedness, and regulation of microfinance.

His experience with microfinance spans 20 years and two dozen countries. Before joining CGAP, Rosenberg was deputy director of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Center for Economic Growth and spent nine years in Latin America, managing investment promotion, privatization, pension reform, and development finance activities. He has taught in the Boulder Institute of Microfinance program since its inception. He holds a law degree from Harvard University.

By Richard Rosenberg

Blog

Perplexed about Over-Indebtedness – Part 1

The core practical question is, “how can we figure out whether there is serious over-indebtedness in a given microfinance market?”
Blog

How to Tell Good MFIs from Bad MFIs

Most of us working in microfinance want microloan clients to be paying interest rates that are as low as possible. While we have the same vision, there is disagreement about how to determine whether an interest rate is an appropriate one.
Blog

Does Microcredit Really Help the Poor? Take II

When people think about “getting out of poverty,” they are usually thinking in terms of income and/or consumption.
Research

Does Microcredit Really Help Poor People?

Ever since microcredit first began to capture public attention 25 years ago, the usual story line has been that it is a tool of extraordinary power to lift poor people—especially women—out of poverty, by funding their microenterprises and raising their incomes.
Blog

Does Microcredit Really Help Poor People?

Since microcredit first came to public attention in the 1980′s, the usual story line has been that it funds creation and expansion of microenterprises, producing additional income that lifts the borrowers’ households out of poverty. But is it true?