Two different sources of data, Brazilian and Chilean banks and NGOs, were accessed to evaluate microcredit programs. Using propensity score and matching techniques, we compare the average income of individuals who received microcredit with the income of control groups, formed by people with similar characteristics. The results for the Brazilian data show a high positive impact of microcredit programs, especially for those administered by banks. In the Chilean case the evidence is weaker for the microcredit administered by banks. As for NGO-based programs, the evidence suggests that their impact on the average income of their clients is actually negative.
