Microcredit: False Hopes and Real Possibilities

Making credit accessible to poor people is a laudable aim. But as a tool for fighting global poverty, microcredit should be judged by its effectiveness, not good intentions.

How effective is micro credit as a poverty-fighting tool? In 1976, Muhammad Yunus, the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner, launched the pioneering institution in the field, the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh. The industry’s growth has been explosive since Grameen opened its doors. According to a recent story in The Economist, “there are now some 10,000 microfinance institutions lending an average of less than $300 to 40 million poor borrowers worldwide.” These institutions have made important advances relative to the array of moneylenders and pawnbrokers that had previously controlled the provisioning of banking services to the world’s poor.

At the same time, considered on its own, Grameen-style initiatives have limited capacity to fight global poverty, especially when placed in a policy setting dominated by neoliberalism.

Neoliberalism became the ascendant economic model throughout the developing world in the late 1970s, at roughly the same time that the Grameen Bank began operations. The main tenets of neoliberalism include macroeconomic policies focused on eliminating inflation rather than expanding job opportunities; cutting government subsidies -- including credit subsidies -- and related systems of support for domestic businesses, including micro enterprises; and opening domestic markets to imports, multinational investors and speculative financiers. These policies in developing countries have produced slower economic growth, increasing inequality, and no progress in reducing poverty -- that is, an insurmountable headwind countering the efforts of the Grameen Bank and its confederates.

How the Grameen Model Works
Regardless of the larger policy issues, the Grameen model has made undeniable contributions in bringing financial services to poor people. The first contribution is the simple recognition that credit and related services -- including bank accounts and insurance policies -- can be important resources for advancing the well being of the poor, just as they are with everyone else. The second is in targeting women as loan recipients, empowering the women within their families and helping them to sustain their home-based micro enterprises.

Grameen’s most important advance has been to develop an alternative to traditional collateral as a basis for lending to the poor. Under a traditional system, you can’t obtain a loan until you have sufficient assets to surrender to the bank, moneylender, or pawnbroker in the event that you fail to make loan repayments. But poor people, by definition, have few assets to pledge -- perhaps a few livestock animals, a small plot of land, or jewelry. Losing these few assets to a creditor would likely bring destitution. Grameen’s innovation was to create borrowing groups, typically of five women. Each group member could receive loans only as long as everyone made payments. This promotes both mutual support among group members as well as peer pressure to keep up with payments. It also created opportunities for large numbers of poor people to become creditworthy for the first time.

Counteracting these positive innovations, the average lending rates by Grameen and other micro finance institutions far exceed standard measures of affordability. Real annual interest rates (i.e. after controlling for inflation) on group loans range between 30-50%, according to a 2004 survey in Microbanking Bulletin. These rates are perhaps lower than what moneylenders typically charge, but remain punishingly high. Imagine a working class family in the U.S. taking out a $100,000 mortgage to purchase a home, then having to pay $30-50,000 per year in interest alone in order to keep their home. Defenders of such arrangements in the micro finance world contend that, accounting for the risks to the lender, these rates are appropriate; and that anything less will not attract profit-seeking bankers into this market. According to this approach, micro finance can only reach its full global potential -- lifting out of poverty the more than 1 billion people of the world now living on roughly $1/day -- if it can attract profit-seekers into the business, not just aid agencies and private do-gooders.

In addition, the Grameen Bank has long prided itself on maintaining repayment rates as high as 95%. However, the accuracy of these figures have been disputed, including in a careful Wall Street Journal report in 2001. Some observers contend that, in fact, Grameen allows distressed borrowers to roll over or stretch out their repayments rather than declaring them in default. This may well be the most effective and humane approach under the circumstances. But again, it is clearly inconsistent with the hard-nosed business model supported by an increasing share of micro finance enthusiasts.

Context is Everything
But whether the credit terms are low or high, micro enterprises run by poor people cannot be broadly successful simply because they have increased opportunities to borrow money. For large numbers of micro enterprises to be successful, they also need access to decent roads and affordable means of moving their products to markets. They need marketing support to reach customers. They need a vibrant, well-functioning domestic market itself that encompasses enough people with enough money to buy what these enterprises have to sell. Finally, micro businesses benefit greatly from an expanding supply of decent wage-paying jobs in their local economies. This is the single best way of maintaining a vibrant domestic market. In addition, when the wage-paying job market is strong, it means that the number of people trying to survive as micro entrepreneurs falls. This reduces competition among micro businesses and thereby improves the chances that any given micro enterprise will succeed.

These additional measures for supporting micro enterprises -- a decent transportation infrastructure, support in marketing the products of micro enterprises, a high level of domestic demand, and an abundance of decent wage-earning jobs -- have all been closely associated with what used to be termed the “developmental state” economic model. Different versions of the developmental state model -- including state socialism, import-substituting industrialization, and the East Asian state-directed economies -- prevailed in developing countries for the first 30 years after World War II, before these models were overtaken by neoliberalism. Each of these developmental state models encountered serious problems. But on balance they all achieved successes in promoting economic growth and greater equality. This is in contrast with the neoliberal record of declining average growth rates and rising inequality.

One of the key institutions of the developmental state model that was largely dismantled under neoliberalism is the state-directed development bank. State-directed development banks provided cheap, long-term credit for domestic businesses that enabled these businesses to develop their productive and marketing capabilities at a sustainable pace. The MIT development economist Alice Amsden concludes in her major study The Rise of the Rest: Challenges to the West from Late-Industrializing Economies: “From the viewpoint of long-term capital supply for public and private investment, development banks…were of overwhelming importance.” Amsden documents this in the cases of Mexico, Chile, Korea, Brazil, and Indonesia. Amsden also points out that the government’s role in providing subsidized long-term credit was substantial even in developing countries where development banks themselves were of relatively minor importance. These cases included Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan, and Turkey.
It is true that, in the countries that Amsden cites, the subsidized credit went to large-scale enterprises focused on breaking into export markets. But the general approach can also be adapted to dramatically expand the availability of affordable credit to small and micro enterprises producing primarily for domestic markets.

A Proposal for Kenya
A good case study of how this might be done is Kenya, where, under the auspices of the International Poverty Centre of the UN Development Program, two colleagues and I are working on an “employment-targeted” development model that gives prominence to issues of credit access for the poor. At present, Kenya already has a widespread system of micro-finance institutions in place. Its commercial banking system is also generally well-developed.
Despite this, Kenyan farmers, small formal businesses and informal micro enterprises are starved for credit. This is because commercial banks do not generally lend to these sectors while the micro finance institutions themselves do not have sufficient resources to provide large-scale funds.

The solution seems straightforward: to bring into much closer alliance the formal commercial banking system and the micro-finance institutions. Our proposal is to inject a major pool of subsidized credit equal to roughly 20% of total private investment in Kenya. These funds would be made available to commercial banks on condition that they in turn make loans to the microfinance institutions. The micro-lenders will be far more adept than the traditional commercial banks at making loans to small businesses, informal enterprises, and agricultural small holders.

We propose that government guarantees be set at 75% of the total amount of loans that commercial banks make to microfinance institutions. This will enable interest rates to fall dramatically -- specifically by the amount at which the loan is being guaranteed and the bank’s risk is correspondingly reduced. This means that, with a 75% government loan guarantee, if the market rate for a micro-credit loan was 40%, the subsidized rate would be 10%. This would make the loan affordable for borrowers while still maintaining market incentives for lenders. The creative methods of establishing eligibility for loans pioneered by the Grameen Bank could be applied effectively within this framework.

Even assuming default rates on these guaranteed loans as high as 30%, the total cost to the Kenyan government of paying off the guaranteed portion of the loans to creditors would be no more than about 5% of its total fiscal budget. This is a relatively small price for creating credit access for the poor throughout the country at interest rates 75% below market rates.
This example suggests that the way to realize the promise of micro credit is to embed the best features of the model within a broader developmental strategy for promoting growth, decent employment, and poverty reduction. Operating within the context of a neoliberal policy framework, micro credit initiatives will continue to face overwhelming obstacles in fighting global poverty.

Robert Pollin is professor of economics, co-director of the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, and a contributor to Foreign Policy In Focus (www.fpif.org). His most recent books include An Employment-Targeted Economic Program for Kenya (forthcoming 2007 UNDP co-authored) and An Employment-Targeted Economic Program for South Africa (2006, UNDP and Edward Elgar, co-authored) .

intellectual fraud

"Augustus was sensible that mankind is governed by names; nor was he deceived in his expectation, that the senate and people would submit to slavery, provided they were respectfully assured that they still enjoyed their ancient freedom." Chapter 3 (Gibbons)

bored...

The differences in human opinions always lead to discontent and disputes. We seems to lack the desire to see the whole picture of the end of inter-relationships of human beings. The ego to prove our conviction materialise the invisible thick lines in our society that normally ends in serious repercussions.

The intellectual fraud that we perceive will always be the answer to our salvation.

renungan

"Abu Laits As-Samarqandi adalah adalah seorang ahli fiqh yang mashur. Suatu ketika dia pernah berkata, ayahku menceritakan bahawa antara nabi-nabi yang bukan rasul ada menerima wahyu dalam bentuk mimpi dan ada yang hanya mendengar suara.

Maka salah seorang nabi yang menerima wahyu melalui mimpi itu, pada suatu malam bermimpi diperintahkan yang berbunyi, “Esok kau hendaklah keluar dari rumah pada waktu pagi menghala ke Barat. Engkau dikehendaki berbuat :

Pertama : Apa yang engkau lihat (hadadapi), maka makanlah.

Kedua : Engkau sembunyikan.

Ketiga : Engkau terimalah.

Keempat : Jangan engkau putuskan harapan.

Kelima : Larilah engkau daripanya.”

Pada keesokan harinya, Nabi itu keluar dari rumahnya menuju ke barat dan kebetulan yang pertama dihadapinya ialah sebuah bukit besar yang berwarna hitam. Nabi itu kebingungan sambil berkata : “Aku diperintahkan memakan pertama aku hadapi, tetapi sungguh aneh, suatu yang mustahil yang tidak dapat dilaksanakan”. Maka Nabi itu terus berjalan menuju ke bukit itu dengan hasrat untuk memakannya. Ketika dia menghadapinya, tiba-tiba bukit itu mengecilkan diri sehingga menjadi sebesar buku roti. Lalu Nabi itu mengambilnya lalu disuapkan kemulutnya. Bila ditelan terasa sungguh manis bagaikan madu. Dia pun mengucapkan syukur Alhamdulillah.

Kemudian nabi itu meneruskan perjalannya, lalu bertemu pula dengan sebuah mangkuk emas. Dia teringat akan arahan mimpinya agar disembunyikan, lantas Nabi itu mengali sebuah lubang lalu ditanamkan mangkuk emas itu, kemudian ditinggalkannya. Tiba-tiba mangkuk emas itu terkeluar semula. Nabi itu menanamkanya semula sehingga tiga kali berturut-turut. Maka berkatalah Nabi itu, “Aku telah melaksanakan perintahmu”. Lalu dia pun meneruskan perjalannya, tanpa disedari oleh Nabi itu, yang mangkuk emas itu keluar semula dari tempat ia ditanam.

Ketika dia sedang berjalan, tiba-tiba dia ternampak seekor burung helang sedang mengejar seekor burung kecil. Kemudian terdengarlah burung kecil itu berkata, “Wahai Nabi Allah tolonglah aku”. Mendengar rayuan itu, dia merasa simpati lalu dia pun mengambil burung itu dan dimasukkan kedalam bajunya. Melihatkan keadaan itu, lantas burung helang itu datang menghampiri Nabi itu sambil berkata, “Wahai Nabi Allah, aku sangat lapar dan aku mengejar burung itu sejak pagi tadi. Oleh itu janganlah engkau patahkan harapanku dari rezekiku”. Nabi itu teringat pesanan arahan dalam mimpinya yang keempat, ia tidak boleh putuskan harapan. Dia menjadi kebingungan untuk menyelesaikan perkara itu. Akhirnya dia membuat keputusan untuk mengambil pedangnya lalu memotong sedikit daging pehanya dan diberikan kepada helang itu. Setelah mendapat daging itu, helang pun terbang dan burung kecil dilepaskan dari dalam bajunya. Selepas kejadian itu, Nabi meneruskan perjanannya.

Tidak lama kemudian, dia bertemu dengan satu bangkai yang amat busuk baunya. Lalu dia bergegas lari dari situ kerana tidak tahan menghidu bau yang menyakitkan hidungnya. Setelah melalui kelima-lima peristiwa itu, maka kembalilah Nabi itu kerumahnya.

Pada malam itu, Nabi pun berdoa. Dalam doanya dia berkata, “ Ya Allah aku telah melaksanakan perintah Mu sebagaimana yang diberitahu di dalam mimpiku, maka jelaskanlah kepada ku erti semua ini.

Di dalam mimpi Beliau telah diberitahu oleh Allah S.W.T bahawa :

“Yang pertama engkau makan ialah marah. Pada mulanya nampak besar seperti bukit tetapi akhirnya jika bersabar dan dapat mengawal serta manahannya maka marah itu akan menjadi lebih manis daripada madu.

Kedua, semua amal kebaikan (budi) walaupun disembunyikan maka ia Tetap akan nampak juga.

Ketiga, jika sudah menerima amanah seseorang janganlah kamu khianat kepadanya.

Keempat, jika orang meminta kepadamu maka usahakanlah untuknya demi membantu kepadanya meskipun kamu sendiri berhajat.

Kelima, bau yang busuk ialah ghibah ( menceritakan hal seseorang ), maka larilah dari orang-orang yang sedang duduk berkumpul membuat ghibah.”

Saudara-saudaraku, kelima-lima perkara ini hendaklah kita semaikan dalam diri kita, Sebab kelima-lima perkara ini sering sahaja berlaku dalam kehidupan diri kita sehari-hari. Perkara yang tidak dapat kita elakkan setiap hari ialah mengata hal orang lain, memang menjadi tabiat seseorang itu suka mengata hal orang lain. Haruslah kita ingat bahawa kata mengata hal seseorang itu akan menghilangkan pahala kita. Sebab ada sebuah hadis yang mengatakan bahawa di akhirat nanti ada seorang hamba Allah yang terkejut melihat pahala yang tidak pernah dikerjakannya. Lalu dia bertanya “Wahai Allah, bahawa pahala yang kamu berikan ini tidak pernah aku kerjakan di dunia dulu”. Maka berkata Allah S.W.T “Inilah adalah pahala orang yang mengata-gata tentang dirimu”. Dengan ini haruslah kita sedar, bahawa walaupun apa yang kita kata itu memang benar, tapi kata mengata itu akan merugikan diri kita sendiri. Oleh kerana itu, janganlah kita mengata hal orang lain walaupun benar melainkan perkara-perkara yang dibenarkan oleh syarak dan agama. "

Gelombang Tujuh

Gelombang tujuh ini ku ceritakan
Gelombang tujuh jadi ingatan
Satu perbahasa ini ku sampaikan
Kepada tengku dan para pimpinan

Gelombang tujuh mesti di rasa
Oleh manusia para pemuka;

Yang pertama rugi dana
Yang kedua badan lelah jua
Yang ketiga berharap ke sana
Ke empat kerja bertambah jua
Yang ke lima dia di caci pula
Ke enam hatinya gundah gulana
Yang ke tujuh di ganggu syaitan

Dia di ganggu itulah ujian
Tujuh hal ini mesti di rasa
Gelombang tujuh itulah maknanya

Kalau semua bisa di lawan
Mendayung perahu selamat di jalan
Kalau ada yang di muafakatkan
Dia diminta jadi pimpinan terdepan

Semisal orang menjadi raja
Gelombang tujuh mesti di cuba
Sungguh payah menjadi raja
Pahit hempedu akan di rasa

Memikirkan rakyat di dalam kampung
Bagaimana agar maju dan beruntung
Merenung sambil bertopang dagu
Menerima tuduhan dari kanan dan kiri
Bagai nabi di zaman bahari

Pendek kata, pendek kata
Kalau jadi pemuka
Siapapun manusianya
Gelombang tujuh mesti di cuba

Kalau tak begitu boleh di kata
Belum boleh jadi pemuka
Begitulah kalam untuk diingat selalu
Kini kusampaikan kepada para tengku

Pantun buat beringat

Pulau pandan jauh ke tengah,
Gunung daik bercabang tiga,
Hancur badan di kandung tanah,
Budi yang baik di kenang juga..

Pergi ke kali mencari gelama,
Sampan kolek putus tali,
Kita berbudi selama-lama,
Dari hidup sampai ke mati..

Lebat daun bunga tanjung,
Berbau harum bunga cempaka,
Adat di jaga pusaka di junjung,
Baru terpelihara adat pusaka..

Bunga cina di atas batu,
Jatuh daunnya ke dalam ruang,
Adat dunia memang begitu,
Sebab emas budi terbuang..

Padi merbuk padi di Acheh,
Hendak di jual di tengah pekan,
Biarlah buruk hatinya kasih,
Orang cantik tak boleh di makan..

Pisau raut dua tiga,
Letak di peti di dalam perahu,
Dalam laut boleh di duga,
Dalam hati siapa tahu..

Cahaya redup menyegar padi,
Ayam berkokok mengirai tuah,
Jikalau hidup tidak berbudi,
Umpama pokok tidak berbuah..

Theories of Development Economics

Linear stages of growth model

The earliest theory of development economics, the linear-stages-of-growth model was first formulated in the 1950s by W. W. Rostow in The Stages of Growth. This theory focuses on the accelerated accumulation of capital, through the utilization of both domestic and international savings as a means of spurring investment, as the primary means of promoting economic growth and, thus, development.

The linear-stages-of-growth model posits that there are a series of five consecutive stages of development which all countries must go through during the process of development. These stages are “the traditional society, the pre-conditions for take-off, the take-off, the drive to maturity, and the age of high mass-consumption” This theory gave further rise to the Harrod-Domar Model which serves to explain through mathematics the basic assumption that improved capital investment leads to greater economic growth.

This theory has been criticized for not recognizing that, while necessary, capital accumulation is not a sufficient condition for development. That is to say that this early and simplistic theory failed to account for political, social and institutional obstacles to development. Furthermore, this theory was developed in the early years of the Cold War and was largely derived from the successes of the Marshall Plan. This has led to the major criticism that the theory assumes that the conditions found in developing countries are the same as those found in post-WWII Europe.

Structural change theory

Structural-change theory deals with policies focused on changing the economic structures of developing countries from being primarily comprised of subsistence agricultural practices to being a “more modern, more urbanized, and more industrially diverse manufacturing and service economy.” There are two major forms of structural-change theory; W. Lewis’ two-sector surplus model, which views agrarian societies as consisting of large amounts of surplus labor which can be utilized to spur the development of an urbanized industrial sector, and Hollis Chenery’s patterns of development approach, which is the empirical analysis of the “sequential process through which the economic, industrial and institutional structure of an underdeveloped economy is transformed over time to permit new industries to replace traditional agriculture as the engine of economic growth.”

Structural-change approaches to development economics have faced criticism for their emphasis on urban development at the expense of rural development which can lead to a substantial rise in inequality between internal regions of a country. The two-sector surplus model, which was developed in the 1950s, has been further criticized for its underlying assumption that predominantly agrarian societies suffer from a surplus of labor. Actual empirical studies have shown that such labor surpluses are only seasonal and drawing such labor to urban areas can result in a collapse of the agricultural sector. The patterns of development approach has been criticized for lacking a theoretical framework.

International dependence theory

International dependence theories gained prominence in the 1970s as a reaction to the failure of earlier theories to lead to widespread successes in international development. Unlike earlier theories, international dependence theories have their origins in developing countries and view obstacles to development as being primarily external in nature, rather than internal. These theories view developing countries as being economically and politically dependent on more powerful, developed countries which have an interest in maintaining their dominant position. There are three different, major formulations of international dependence theory; neocolonial dependence theory, the false-paradigm model and the dualistic-dependence model. The first formulation of international dependence theory, neocolonial dependence theory has its origins in Marxism and views the failure of many developing nations to undergo successful development as being the result of the historical development of the international capitalist system.

Neoclassical theory

First gaining prominency with the rise of several conservative governments in the West during the 1980s, neoclassical theories represents a radical shift away from International Dependence Theories. Neoclassical theories argue that governments should not intervene in the economy; in other words, these theories are claiming that an unobstructed free market is the best means of inducing rapid and successful development. Competitive free markets unrestrained by excessive government regulation are seen as being able to naturally ensure that the allocation of resources occurs with ergdgthe greatest efficiency possible and the economic growth is raised and stabilized.

It is important to note that there are several different approaches within the realm of neoclassical theory, each with subtle, but important, differences in their views regarding the extent to which the market should be left unregulated. These different takes on neoclassical theory are the free market approach, public-choice theory, and the market-friendly approach. Of the three, both the free-market approach and public-choice theory contend that the market should be totally free, meaning that any intervention by the government is necessarily bad. Public-choice theory is arguably the more radical of the two with its view, closely associated with libertarianism, that governments themselves are rarely good and therefore should be as minimal as possible.

The market-friendly approach, unlike the other two, is a more recent development and is often associated with the World Bank. This approach still advocates free markets but recognizes that there are many imperfections in the markets of many developing nations and thus argues that some government intervention is an effective means of fixing such imperfections

Topics of Research

Development economics also includes topics such as Third World debt, and the functions of such organisations as the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. Many economists in this field are interested in ways of promoting stable and sustainable growth in poor countries and areas, by promoting self reliance and education in some of the lowest income countries in the world. Where economic issues merge with social and political ones, it is referred to as development studies.

Criticisms

Per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP per head) is used by many developmental economists as an approximation of general national well-being. However, these measures are criticized as not measuring economic growth well enough, especially in countries where there is much economic activity that is not part of measured financial transactions (such as housekeeping and self-homebuilding), or where funding is not available for accurate measurements to be made publicly available for other economists to use in their studies (including private and institutional fraud, in some countries).

Even though per-capita GDP as measured can make economic well-being appear smaller than it really is in some developing countries, the discrepancy could be still bigger in a developed country where people may perform outside of financial transactions an even higher-value service than housekeeping or homebuilding as gifts or in their own households, such as counseling, lifestyle coaching, a more valuable home décor service, and time management. Even free choice can be considered to add value to lifestyles without necessarily increasing the financial transaction amounts. More recent theories of Human Development have begun to see beyond purely financial measures of development, for example with measures such as medical care available, education, equality, and political freedom.

One measure used is the Genuine Progress Indicator, which relates strongly to theories of distributive justice. Actual knowledge about what creates growth is largely unproven; however recent advances in econometrics and more accurate measurements in many countries is creating new knowledge by compensating for the effects of variables to determine probable causes out of merely correlational statistics.

Recent developments

The most prominent contemporary development economist is perhaps the Nobel laureate Amartya Sen. Recent theories revolve around questions about what variables or inputs correlate or affect economic growth the most: elementary, secondary, or higher education, government policy stability, low tariffs, fair court systems, available infrastructure, availability of medical care, prenatal care and clean water, ease of entry and exit into trade, and equality of income distribution (for example, as indicated by the Gini coefficient), and how to advise governments about macroeconomic policies, which include all policies that affect the economy.

Education enables countries to adapt the latest technology and creates an environment for new innovations. The cause of limited growth and divergence in economic growth lies in the high rate of acceleration of technological change by a small number of developed countries. These countries’ acceleration of technology was due to increased incentive structures for mass education which in turn created a framework for the population to create and adapt new innovations and methods. Furthermore, the content of their education was composed of secular schooling that resulted in higher productivity levels and modern economic growth.

References

Todaro, Michael and Stephen Smith. Economic Development. 9th ed. Addison-Wesley series in economics, 2006

Arndt, H.W. Economic Development: A Semantic History. “Economic Development and Cultural Change.” Vol. 29, No. 3. (Apr., 1981), pp. 457-466. Chicago: The Chicago University Press.

Rostow, W.W. The Five Stages of Growth. Development and Underdevelopment: The Political Economy of Global Inequality. 3rd ed. pp. 123-131. Eds. Seligson, Mitchell and John Passe-Smith. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2003.

Further reading

Jomo K.S. (2005), Pioneers of Development Economics: Great Economists on Development, Zed Books - the contributions of economists such as Marshall and Keynes, not normally considered development economists

Gerald M. Meier (2005), Biography of a Subject: An Evolution of Development Economics, Oxford University Press

Gerald M. Meier, Dudley Seers[editors] (1984), Pioneers in Development, World Bank

Jeffrey D. Sachs (2005), The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time, Penguin Books

Ben Fine and Jomo K.S. (eds, 2005), The New Development Economics: Post Washington Consensus Neoliberal Thinking, Zed Books

Peter Griffiths (2003), The Economist's Tale: A Consultant Encounters Hunger and the World Bank, Zed Books

George Mavrotas and Anthony Shorrocks (eds, 2007), Advancing Development: Core Themes in Global Development, Palgrave Macmillan

World Institute for Development Economics Research Publications/Discussion Papers
The Center for Global Development

Easterly, William (2002), Elusive Quest for Growth: Economists' Adventures and Misadventures in the Tropics, The MIT Press