Montgomery, H.Weiss, John A.2010-11-192010-11-192011Montgomery, H. and Weiss, J. (2011). Can commercially-oriented microfinance help meet the Millennium Development Goals? Evidence from Pakistan. World Development. Vol. 39, No. 1, pp. 87¿109.90008882http://hdl.handle.net/10454/4475YesThe current emphasis in the microfinance industry is a shift from donor-funded to commercially sustainable operations. This article evaluates the impact of access to microloans from the Khushhali Bank - Pakistan's first and largest microfinance bank which operates on commercial principles. Using primary data from a detailed household survey of nearly 3000 borrower and non-borrower households, a difference in difference approach is used to test for the impact of access to loans. Once the results are disaggregated between rural and urban areas there is a positive impact in rural areas on food expenditure and on some social indicators.en© 2010 Elsevier. Reproduced in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy.AsiaPakistanMicrofinancePovertyImpactEmpowermentMillennium Development GoalsKhushhali BankREF 2014Articlehttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2010.09.001