Microfinance and Poverty Reduction in Turkey

Abstract

Economic vulnerability in Turkey is quite high for a middle-income country. About one fifth of the population still have no sufficient means to food, clothes, and shelter; furthermore they have very limited or no access to financial services. This paper, first, aims to provide a general overview of the country's poverty profile and to analyze its microfinance sector. The second objective is to assess the impact of the existing microcredit programs to combat poverty. The programs' effectiveness will be examined in terms of two issues: the success of microfinance programs in reaching the core poor and in pulling large segments of the poor population out of poverty.