ABSTRACT
The effectiveness of microcredit programmes is usually evaluated in terms of the evidence of their impact on poverty, since poverty alleviation is their professed goal. In spite of the rapidly growing and rich literature on this subject, as reviewed in Chapter 7 in the Bangladesh context, there remain many controversies and unresolved issues. Given the difficulties of impact assessment, it is therefore useful to look at the uses of microcredit loans. After all, the impact on poverty arises from the way loans are used, so that any evidence on it can provide useful insights regarding how much and in what ways the borrowers may be expected to benefit from access to microcredit.
