Microfinance and Financial Inclusion
Microfinance and Financial Inclusion is a research topic within Economics and Econometrics. Science Explorer counts 31k research works in it since 1952. 28.0% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.
This cluster of papers focuses on the intersection of microfinance, gender empowerment, and economic development. It explores the impact of microfinance on poverty reduction, financial inclusion, and women's empowerment, with a particular emphasis on access to finance, social capital, and the role of mobile money in promoting economic opportunities for the poor.
- Microfinance
- Empowerment
- Gender Equality
- Financial Inclusion
- Poverty Reduction
- Economic Development
- Women's Empowerment
- Access to Finance
- Social Capital
- Mobile Money
- Research works
- 31k fractional, since 1952
- In the world top 10%
- 8.8k per year above
- Top-10% rate
- 28.0% share of its works in the world top 10%
- Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
- +71% the tick is no change
Which countries lead Microfinance and Financial Inclusion research?
By volume, India and Indonesia publish the most (1.6k and 1.1k works in 2022–2025).
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 India 1.6k works
- 2 Indonesia 1.1k works
- 3 China 853 works
- 4 United States 819 works
- 5 Malaysia 504 works
- 6 Nigeria 374 works
- 7 Kenya 332 works
- 8 Pakistan 325 works
- 9 United Kingdom 309 works
- 10 South Africa 265 works
How concentrated that is
The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.
Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.
Which institutions lead Microfinance and Financial Inclusion research?
By volume in 2022–2025, Kenyatta University publishes the most Microfinance and Financial Inclusion research, followed by Department of Commerce and Universiti Teknologi MARA.
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 Kenyatta UniversityKenya 72 works
- 2 Department of CommerceAustralia 68 works
- 3 Universiti Teknologi MARAMalaysia 68 works
- 4 Tribhuvan UniversityNepal 52 works
- 5 Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and TechnologyKenya 52 works
- 6 International Islamic University MalaysiaMalaysia 51 works
- 7 University of JohannesburgSouth Africa 48 works
- 8 Northern University of MalaysiaMalaysia 43 works
- 9 University of South AfricaSouth Africa 41 works
- 10 University of DelhiIndia 37 works
Who are the leading researchers in Microfinance and Financial Inclusion?
The most-cited researchers publishing on Microfinance and Financial Inclusion include Joseph E. Stiglitz, Raghuram G. Rajan and Allen N. Berger.
- 1 Joseph E. Stiglitz United States 7.4k citations
- 2 Raghuram G. Rajan United States 3.5k citations
- 3 Allen N. Berger United States 3.4k citations
Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.
Where is Microfinance and Financial Inclusion research done?
The largest centres of Microfinance and Financial Inclusion research in 2022–2025 are Nairobi (Kenya), Beijing (China), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) and Jakarta (Indonesia). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Bamenda and Morogoro.
Largest cities, 2022–2025
- 1 Nairobi Kenya 210 works
- 2 Beijing China 179 works
- 3 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia 155 works
- 4 Jakarta Indonesia 129 works
- 5 Dhaka Bangladesh 129 works
- 6 New Delhi India 107 works
- 7 Bengaluru India 93 works
- 8 Accra Ghana 87 works
- 9 Yogyakarta Indonesia 85 works
- 10 Bandung Indonesia 83 works
Where it is the local speciality
- BamendaCM · 20.3 works29×
- MorogoroTZ · 31.6 works29×
Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Microfinance and Financial Inclusion than the world average.
Where is the best place to study Microfinance and Financial Inclusion?
Among universities, judged by research, University of Johannesburg, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and Northern University of Malaysia score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.
One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.
| # | University | Score | Top 10% | Specialisation | Works | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of JohannesburgSouth Africa | 77.6 | 56.3% | 7.5× | 48 | +184.5% |
| 2 | Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and TechnologyGhana | 75.0 | 54.8% | 13.0× | 26 | +117.2% |
| 3 | Northern University of MalaysiaMalaysia | 73.1 | 32.3% | 23.6× | 43 | +254.6% |
| 4 | University for Development StudiesGhana | 72.6 | 42.8% | 26.3× | 25 | +287.3% |
| 5 | University of Business and TechnologySaudi Arabia | 71.2 | 55.9% | 10.1× | 10 | +121.2% |
| 6 | University of GhanaGhana | 70.1 | 51.2% | 14.1× | 31 | +47.7% |
| 7 | International Islamic University MalaysiaMalaysia | 69.9 | 25.7% | 19.0× | 50 | +173.5% |
| 8 | Southwestern University of Finance and EconomicsChina | 68.1 | 53.8% | 12.2× | 18 | +108.3% |
| 9 | International Centre for Education in Islamic FinanceMalaysia | 66.3 | 30.2% | 185.8× | 21 | +343.9% |
| 10 | Tribhuvan UniversityNepal | 66.2 | 16.3% | 11.9× | 52 | +346.9% |
Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.
Is Microfinance and Financial Inclusion research growing?
Output in 2018–2022 was 71% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Microfinance and Financial Inclusion.
The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.
Which topics inside it are moving
Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.