Issue 4: Spring 2009Subscribe via RSS

A Partial Marvel: Microcredit may not work wonders but it does help the entrepreneurial poor

The Economist; 18 July 2009. Has microcredit delivered on its promise to lift borrowers out of poverty? Academics have had a hard time finding evidence to answer this question. Part of the challenge of studying the impact of microcredit is selection bias. A scientific survey requires that you compare those who get a microcredit loan with a control group of similar people facing the exact same economic hardships and external market constraints. Microcredit loans may … Continue reading →

Posted in Issue 4: Spring 2009 | Tagged Abhijit Banerjee, Demonstrating Social Impact, entrepreneur, global poverty, India, marketplace, microcredit, Philippines, Poverty Action Lab at MIT, Social Investment | Comments Off

Does Microlending Really Help the Poor?

The BBC World Service; radio broadcast; 29 July 2009. To listen to the voices of borrowers, lenders, and regulators engaged in microcredit BBC radio reporter Jo Fidgen goes to the streets in Zambia. She uncovers the “debt trap” into which some Zambian borrowers have fallen. According to one microcredit borrower who runs a sewing shop: “After I pay off the interest on my loan every month, there is no money left to invest in my … Continue reading →

Posted in Issue 4: Spring 2009 | Tagged BBC, debt trap, Demonstrating Social Impact, global poverty, microcredit, Philippines, Social Investment, Zambia | Comments Off

Emerging Markets, Emerging Models: Market-Based Solutions to the Challenges of Global Poverty

The Monitor Group; March 2009. Although microfinance may be the best known example of serving low-income groups through a market solution, many other models are now emerging to serve a large and growing population of poor people. Half the world’s population lives on less than $2 per day: that is 2.6 billion people. During the last few decades of increasing aid the livelihood for those at the “bottom of the pyramid” has not gotten better. … Continue reading →

Posted in Issue 4: Spring 2009 | Tagged bottom of the pyramid, global poverty, India, marketplace, microfinance, pay-per-use, procurement, Public Policy, Social Investment, training | Comments Off

Book Review: Creating a World Without Poverty

Book by Muhammad Yunus. Reviewed by Barbara Merz. Creating a World Without Poverty could easily have been a retrospective. After all, its author has plenty to reflect upon. Instead, the book is unmistakably forward-looking. This book presents a compelling vision for the future of capitalism. It envisions a market where social businesses emerge to address social issues. Muhammad Yunus could have rested on his laurels when he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, Corporate Responsibility, Ethics, Issue 4: Spring 2009, Social Enterprise, Social Investment | Tagged book, Corporate Responsibility, Ethics, global poverty, Grameen Bank, Leadership, microcredit, microfinance, Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Peace Prize, social business, Social Innovation, Social Investment | Comments Off

Financial Inclusion, Market Failures and New Markets: Possibilities for Community Development Finance Institutions in Australia

by Ingrid Burkett and Belinda Drew, A Foresters Community Finance Occasional Paper; October 2008. Foresters Community Finance of Queensland argues that the lack of access to affordable capital is the major challenge to the growth of the fourth sector in Australia. In this report, authors Burkett and Drew broaden the traditional definition of financial exclusion in Australia to include not just individuals and families but also groups and organisations such as civil society organisations, social … Continue reading →

Posted in Issue 4: Spring 2009 | Tagged affordable housing, Australia, Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), Foresters Community Finance, fourth sector, job creation, marketplace, microfinance, Public Policy, small business development, social business, Social Enterprise, social inclusion, Social Investment | Comments Off

Investors’ Perspectives: A Time for Community Bonds

by Maureen Stapleton, Alliance; June 2009. Alliance magazine is a quarterly journal aimed at informing philanthropists and social investors about the latest trends in the field worldwide. It may be a sign of the growing popularity of new financial instruments pitched to philanthropists, that the magazine is now featuring financial products. This article provides a brief introduction to yet another social investment opportunity: community bonds. According to the author, community bonds are in use in … Continue reading →

Posted in Issue 4: Spring 2009 | Tagged Calvert Foundation, Citylife, community bonds, Demonstrating Social Impact, marketplace, philanthropy, regulation, Social Investment | Comments Off

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