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Microcredit and the Third World Perspectives from moral and political philosophy

Microcredit and the Third World Perspectives from moral and political philosophy Poverty in third world (TW) countries is a serious problem, and microcredit has become the most popular approach to address this undesirable phenomenon. This model, perceived more than a quarter century ago in Bangladesh, is now being pursued around the globe. In spite of this enormous popularity, there is scepticism about the model's ability to make a “major dent in the TW poverty situation”. These criticisms, however, seem just as weak as the arguments supporting the model. One apparent reason is that both the claims and criticisms are founded on the same theoretical perspective of neoclassical economics. To inject some fresh ideas in the debate, this paper examined microcredit's poverty‐alleviating ability from the perspectives of moral and political philosophy and concludes that the theory has insurmountable limitations as a model of sustainable poverty alleviation in the TW. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png International Journal of Social Economics Emerald Publishing

Microcredit and the Third World Perspectives from moral and political philosophy

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Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © 2004 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.
ISSN
0306-8293
DOI
10.1108/03068290410540855
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Poverty in third world (TW) countries is a serious problem, and microcredit has become the most popular approach to address this undesirable phenomenon. This model, perceived more than a quarter century ago in Bangladesh, is now being pursued around the globe. In spite of this enormous popularity, there is scepticism about the model's ability to make a “major dent in the TW poverty situation”. These criticisms, however, seem just as weak as the arguments supporting the model. One apparent reason is that both the claims and criticisms are founded on the same theoretical perspective of neoclassical economics. To inject some fresh ideas in the debate, this paper examined microcredit's poverty‐alleviating ability from the perspectives of moral and political philosophy and concludes that the theory has insurmountable limitations as a model of sustainable poverty alleviation in the TW.

Journal

International Journal of Social Economics – Emerald Publishing

Published: Jul 1, 2004

Keywords: Third World; Poverty; Microeconomics; Economic resources; Credit; Loans

References

  • Imperfect information, screening, and the costs of informal lending: a study of rural credit market in Pakistan
    Aleem, I.
  • The Politics
    Aristotle
  • The Nicomachean Ethics
    Aristotle
  • An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation
    Bentham, J.