1.Focus on repayment records. Sustainability over the long run is a central concern of commercial bank credit schemes. Ability to repay indicates a positive return on investment and may be a measure of program failure or success. Repayment records indicate access to credit by targeted groups such as women, and may also suggest whether women or men in the same economic activity make better use of a given loan. 2.Compare income generated by credit with the cost of creating new jobs. Income and productivity are just as important as job creation in considering the impact of a program on poverty alleviation. Berger suggests that studies should compare the income generated by the credit programs with the cost of creating new jobs through traditional means, in order to evaluate the impact and efficiency of credit funds. 3.Improve record keeping and make studies over time. A lack of records and financial data prevents the evaluation of the impact of credit on small businesses over time. This may be overcome by training once credit has been accessed, but more information is needed on microenterprises without credit. Longer-term studies of the impact of credit are necessary, rather than short term evaluations using limited criteria. 4.Compare borrowers vs. a control group of nonborrowers. To consider how credit programs may change the financial viability of microenterprises, Berger recommends comparing borrowers with equivalent nonborrowers. 5.Evaluate borrowers according to class and by income. Microcredit programs should evaluate their impact on diverse groups of recipients. Those having more resources, education, and skills, or who are within well-placed networks,may be better able to take advantage of microcredit schemes. The success or failure of programs should not be based on the success or failure of particular subgroups of recipients. 6.Measure the transaction costs of different programs. Women have demands placed on their time and resources by competing economic activities and domestic responsibilities. Studies of the costs of credit should evaluate the use of time by poor women and opportunities lost in applying for credit or participating in credit schemes. 7.Study the characteristics of successful borrowers and programs. More research is needed on the features of successful users of microenterprise credit and of credit programs. Only systematic comparison reveals which are the best types of program to adopt in particular circumstances and which groups are most likely to make the best use of the funds.