One Who Really Matters

This morning, the Nobel Committee awarded the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize to Muhammad Yunus, a Bangladeshi microfinancier.  You can read the AP report to find out exactly what he does and why his work is so important, so I'll just offer a quick word about the prize and its recipient.  The truth is, regardless of how much respect I have for the World Bank, it is individuals like Yunus who are the key to achieving real, lasting economic development throughout the world.  The World Bank largely funds infrastructure projects in the developing world and it is often the case that these projects have little real impact on the poorest citizens of the recipient countries.  Most of Yunus's customers, such as the young basketweaver, will benefit little from massive top-down development projects like a new dam or new roads.  But a very small loan that allows her to purchase reed for her baskets with a flexible repayment plan?  Now that's significant.  From here, it is only a small step to borrow money for either her kids' school supplies or a small expansion in her business.  Either of these loans would have an even greater impact on her life.  Now if only the World Bank can get the memo and start exploring further microfinancing opportunities, we may actually see some real progress over the next decade.

Comments

[~R.]

Same goes for in this country too; microfinancing and community lenders are a big step towards reducing poverty and restoring inner-city economies. Greider talks a lot about that in his <em>Soul of Capitalism</em>, and it really does go a long way towards breaking down this vision of capitalism is solely the domain of multinationals.

[~R.]

Fuckin' HTML.