Holden: My guess is that microfinance is net eiebficnal, but increasing availability of credit is not a clean benefit like you seem to be suggesting. If credit is used productively it creates wealth, but also economic disruption. If it is used less productively it increases asset prices. It could easily be the case that for many people it is rational to borrow money to pay for some good but the availability of that credit enables the people selling that good to increase their prices, making life worse for those without easy credit. The degree to which this is a problem depends on the quality of the market. In a perfectly efficient market it will not be a problem, but neither will inadequate credit.
