The Role of Microfinance in Contemporary Rural Development Finance Policy and Practice: Imposing Neoliberalism as ‘Best Practice’

Milford Bateman · 2012 · Journal of Agrarian Change

Summary. Microcredit emerged in the 1970s as a poverty-reduction tool based on individual entrepreneurship, gaining strong support from neoliberal policymakers and international development institutions. However, evidence now shows microcredit has failed to reduce poverty or support rural development. Rural communities exposed to microcredit have suffered damage through boom-and-bust cycles. Despite this failure, major development institutions and Western governments continue supporting microfinance for ideological reasons.

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Bateman, M.. (2012). The Role of Microfinance in Contemporary Rural Development Finance Policy and Practice: Imposing Neoliberalism as ‘Best Practice’. Journal of Agrarian Change. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-0366.2012.00376.x

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  title   = {The Role of Microfinance in Contemporary Rural Development Finance Policy and Practice: Imposing Neoliberalism as ‘Best Practice’},
  author  = {Milford Bateman},
  journal = {Journal of Agrarian Change},
  year    = {2012},
  doi     = {10.1111/j.1471-0366.2012.00376.x},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-0366.2012.00376.x}
}

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Details

DOI: 10.1111/j.1471-0366.2012.00376.x
Categories: funding, policy, innovation-theory
Added: 2026-04-28