Defying the odds

This study focuses on the growth of microfinance in the context of social and economic change--and upheavals--in developing countries. Rather than relying on one-dimensional technical analyses, Eugene Versluysen presents the experiences and achievements of microfinance institutions and their clients in the form of country-based case studies. He emphasizes how important it is for people, who have never had access to credit, to be given the opportunity to use credit to become self-sufficient and support themselves and their families. The significance of grass-roots developmental entrepreneurship and alternative poverty-reduction strategies will interest policy makers and analysts alike. Students of finance and developmental economics will see how microfinance has grown into a worldwide movement and has become one the central tenets of a new paradigm of socially-oriented--and sustainable--development. Book jacket.