‘Freedom from Poverty is Not for Free’: Rural Development and the Microfinance Crisis in Andhra Pradesh, India

Marcus Taylor · 2011 · Journal of Agrarian Change

Summary. The 2010 microfinance crisis in Andhra Pradesh reveals fundamental failures in neoliberal development narratives. Microfinance institutions exploited rural vulnerability caused by trade liberalization, drought, and agrarian collapse, encouraging poor farmers to take loans for consumption and debt management. The crisis demonstrates that integrating the poor into formal financial systems without addressing underlying agrarian dislocations creates instability rather than poverty reduction.

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Taylor, M.. (2011). ‘Freedom from Poverty is Not for Free’: Rural Development and the Microfinance Crisis in Andhra Pradesh, India. Journal of Agrarian Change. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-0366.2011.00330.x

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  title   = {‘Freedom from Poverty is Not for Free’: Rural Development and the Microfinance Crisis in Andhra Pradesh, India},
  author  = {Marcus Taylor},
  journal = {Journal of Agrarian Change},
  year    = {2011},
  doi     = {10.1111/j.1471-0366.2011.00330.x},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-0366.2011.00330.x}
}

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Details

DOI: 10.1111/j.1471-0366.2011.00330.x
Countries: India
Regions: Asia
Categories: funding, policy, food-systems
Added: 2026-04-28