The Grameen Bank

In the first comprehensive study of Bangladesh's Grameen Bank Abu Wahid brings together a wide range of specialists to examine this unique and highly successful development experiment. Providing small, dedicated loans to a poor rural population, the Grameen Bank is characterized by a practical, realistic system of debt servicing, credit education, and an unusual method of peer monitoring in lieu of nonexistent collateral. The bank offers marginalized groups the initial credit that the contributors consider essential to economic self-improvement. Throughout the book, the contributors examine the theory, performance, impact, structure, and costs of the Grameen Bank. In addition, they explore the replicability and application of the Grameen concept for other countries, including the United States.