Falling government and donor funding, which has traditionally supported microfinance, is followed by an expansion of financially self-sustainable Microfinance Institutions (MFIs). This development has raised the concern as to whether the social goals of traditional microfinance would be equally well served in the new environment in as much as financial performance and outreach compete with each other. In this paper, we empirically examine this relation between financial performance and outreach of MFIs in a panel of South Asian countries from 2003 to 2009 using random effects modeling and general method of moments (GMM) estimation. We find that: (a) breadth and depth of outreach are positively associated to profitability and efficiency, and (b) depth in contrast to breadth mitigates risks. Overall, our findings do not confirm a statistically significant negative relation between financial performance and outreach goals, suggesting that a financially sustainable microfinance expansion can achieve its social goals at an acceptable credit risk level.

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the response of investors to the announcements on the inclusion and exclusion of companies from the FTSE-ASE 20 index. Design/methodology/approach Data on the inclusion and exclusion of companies from the FTSE-ASE 20 index in the period 2000-2012 were used. The authors performed an event study analysis using a constant return model and a market model. Two different measures of aggregated abnormal returns, namely the cumulating abnormal returns and the buy-and-hold abnormal return, were used in this investigation. Findings The results suggest that the exclusion of a company from the index has a significant negative effect on stock returns. Specifically, such a stock takes more than 15 days to recover. However, for a company’s inclusion in the index, the authors observe short-lived positive reactions on stock returns. Practical implications Capital market regulators and investors should find the policy implications of this paper meaningful. Investment strategies can be implemented on the basis of the news of exclusion from the index, which can lead to higher performance for investors. As far as authorities are concerned, the decision of inclusion and exclusion to the most significant stock index in the Greek market should be carefully considered because it creates financial instability for a significant time period. Originality/value By using a battery of parametric and non-parametric econometric tests, the existence of abnormal returns of the FTSE-ASE 20 index is explored over a long time period, including the recent financial crisis.

This paper examines the direction of causality between Venture Capital (VC) and innovation (proxied by patents) in Europe. We test whether causality runs from patents to VC by estimating a linear dynamic panel model and causality from VC to patents by estimating a panel count model. Evidence from a European sample indicates that causality runs from patents to VC suggesting that, in Europe, innovation seems to create a demand for VC and not VC a supply of innovation. In this sense, innovative ideas seem to lack more than funds in Europe. JEL Classification: G24, O30

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