Veronica Polin

It is well known how high and persistent is the Italian public debt and its cost borne by citizens. Less known is the territorial dimension of the redistributive effects of this burden. In this article we try to shine a light on the regional financial redistribution of government securities in Italy over a long period of time. According to our findings, the financing burden, estimated using alternative criteria, is borne by all regions and, for most regions, the enjoyed benefits, as securities holders, are not sufficient to offset the amount paid through taxes...

This paper focuses on microcredit, a financial tool adopted in many countries to fight financial exclusion and poverty. By employing microcredit strategies, small loans are granted to low income households who would ‘naturally’ be excluded from the formal financial system. Thus, microcredit enables low income households to create and expand microenterprises or to address temporary liquidity budget problems. We review the main causes of credit exclusion of low income households and discuss the role of innovative micro-lending strategies that aim to limit the ‘imperfections’ of the credit markets. Then, we analyze size, targets and the various ways this instrument has been adopted in industrialized nations versus developing nations. Finally the paper provides an up-to-date overview of the microcredit sector in Europe, focusing particularly on the development of microcredit in Italy as a case-study. Key words: Financial Exclusion, Microcredit, Poverty. JEL Classification: D53, G21, I32, I38.