MFIs also recognize that financial instability creates barriers to education, preventing children from attending school; these barriers include the costs of transportation, schoolbooks, and uniforms, as well as lost hours of child labor that would contribute to family income.(15) Microfinance initiatives can indirectly support education by providing families with income stability, enabling them to afford schooling. Financially secure households are better equipped to keep children in school than are their financially unstable counterparts. Theoretically, increased economic income (a potential result of microfinance initiatives) should result in higher expenditures on schooling. Although few studies have analyzed the effect of microfinance on access to education, several reports from Bangladesh support positive associations.(16) Research from Uganda also suggests that participation in microfinance programs correlates with increased investment in children’s education.(17) However, there is also evidence suggesting that microfinance projects may actually exacerbate educational inequities; while one household may experience an increased demand for schooling, another family whose farm size has increased due to newly-acquired loans may have a greater need for child labor.(18)