I know next to nothing about microfinance (there’s more than 20 types of microfinance?!?), though there seems to be plenty of student interest in the topic. If this applies to you, you might check out this week’s EconTalk podcast features Duke political economist Michael Munger chitchatting with Russ Roberts — about an hour of fun, and a pretty good overview.
For those of you interested in more formal (and cite-able) economics resources, here are a few starting points. First, if you aren’t sure what it is, check out this review piece on micro-credit at The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics.
Next, it’s always a good idea to go through the Journal of Economic Perspectives. Indeed, there are two very solid pieces bookending the past 15 years — “The Microfinance Promise” from the late 1990s, and the more contemporary “Microfinance Meets the Market.”
And, finally, for a book-length treatment, try The Economics of Microfinance, available over at The Mudd.