Want to know what books Stuart Rutherford recommends on their reading list? We've researched interviews, social media posts, podcasts, and articles to build a comprehensive list of Stuart Rutherford's favorite book recommendations of all time.
1
The study discusses the performance of a number of financial agents in the semi-arid Sangli district of Marharashtra. Since the 1950s, public and private investment in irrigation, sugar factories, and cane cultivation stimulated a sugar boom in Sangli. Similar investments led to a dairy boom in the 1970s. Focusing on informal financial intermediaries such as money lenders, pawn brokers, milk collectors, and several types of self-help saving and credit associations, Bouman argues that informal finance agents are better equipped to deal with the special demands of low income rural communities. more The study discusses the performance of a number of financial agents in the semi-arid Sangli district of Marharashtra. Since the 1950s, public and private investment in irrigation, sugar factories, and cane cultivation stimulated a sugar boom in Sangli. Similar investments led to a dairy boom in the 1970s. Focusing on informal financial intermediaries such as money lenders, pawn brokers, milk collectors, and several types of self-help saving and credit associations, Bouman argues that informal finance agents are better equipped to deal with the special demands of low income rural communities. less See more recommendations for this book...
2
With a compassionate realism and narrative sweep that recall the work of Charles Dickens, this magnificent novel captures all the cruelty and corruption, dignity and heroism, of India.
The time is 1975. The place is an unnamed city by the sea. The government has just declared a State of Emergency, in whose upheavals four strangers--a spirited widow, a young student uprooted from his idyllic hill station, and two tailors who have fled the caste violence of their native village--will be thrust together, forced to share one cramped apartment and an uncertain future.
As... more With a compassionate realism and narrative sweep that recall the work of Charles Dickens, this magnificent novel captures all the cruelty and corruption, dignity and heroism, of India.
The time is 1975. The place is an unnamed city by the sea. The government has just declared a State of Emergency, in whose upheavals four strangers--a spirited widow, a young student uprooted from his idyllic hill station, and two tailors who have fled the caste violence of their native village--will be thrust together, forced to share one cramped apartment and an uncertain future.
As the characters move from distrust to friendship and from friendship to love, A Fine Balance creates an enduring panorama of the human spirit in an inhuman state. less 
Stuart RutherfordA great romp of a novel, set in western India. In a way, it’s a precursor of Slumdog Millionaire, but much darker. (Source)
Jacqueline NovogratzA Dickensian novel that captures the essence of being poor in urban India in ways extraordinary and deeply human. (Source)
Michael PeelThe book is full of these terrible moments and yet at the end of it you feel strangely uplifted. (Source)
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4
* Tells the success story of how microfinance in Latin America lifted whole populations into the financial mainstream* Offers a non-technical, in-depth analysis of the microlending debateSome people tout microfinance as the most important tool now available for fighting poverty while still others doubt its contribution to the "truly" poor. This volume offers a reasoned, moderate voice on the virtues and problems of microfinance. Drawing on the success story of Bolivia, Rhyne traces the transformation of NGOs into formal financial institutions, and examines microfinance under the conditions of... more * Tells the success story of how microfinance in Latin America lifted whole populations into the financial mainstream* Offers a non-technical, in-depth analysis of the microlending debateSome people tout microfinance as the most important tool now available for fighting poverty while still others doubt its contribution to the "truly" poor. This volume offers a reasoned, moderate voice on the virtues and problems of microfinance. Drawing on the success story of Bolivia, Rhyne traces the transformation of NGOs into formal financial institutions, and examines microfinance under the conditions of commercialization and competition that have altered the dynamics of the new industry.Using participant interviews, Beth Rhyne details how Bolivia s special breed of social entrepreneurs found the keys to unlock the huge unmet demand of informal clients. She explores how these social activists shaped the character of the institutions that now dominate Bolivia s microfinance sector, and traces how these institutions proved that lending to microenterprises could become a commercial business. Rhyne investigates the transformation of NGOs into formal financial institutions, led by the creation of BancoSol, and closely examines microfinance under the conditions of commercialization and competition that have altered the dynamics of the new industry. less Stuart RutherfordRemarkable in being as frank about the crises microfinance has suffered as it is about the undoubted successes. (Source)
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5
Beatriz Armendáriz, Jonathan Morduch | 4.33
An accessible analysis of the global expansion of financial markets in poor communities, incorporating the latest thinking and evidence.
The microfinance revolution has allowed more than 150 million poor people around the world to receive small loans without collateral, build up assets, and buy insurance. The idea that providing access to reliable and affordable financial services can have powerful economic and social effects has captured the imagination of policymakers, activists, bankers, and researchers around the world; the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize went to microfinance... more An accessible analysis of the global expansion of financial markets in poor communities, incorporating the latest thinking and evidence.
The microfinance revolution has allowed more than 150 million poor people around the world to receive small loans without collateral, build up assets, and buy insurance. The idea that providing access to reliable and affordable financial services can have powerful economic and social effects has captured the imagination of policymakers, activists, bankers, and researchers around the world; the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize went to microfinance pioneer Muhammed Yunis and Grameen Bank of Bangladesh. This book offers an accessible and engaging analysis of the global expansion of financial markets in poor communities. It introduces readers to the key ideas driving microfinance, integrating theory with empirical data and addressing a range of issues, including savings and insurance, the role of women, impact measurement, and management incentives. This second edition has been updated throughout to reflect the latest data. A new chapter on commercialization describes the rapid growth in investment in microfinance institutions and the tensions inherent in the efforts to meet both social and financial objectives. The chapters on credit contracts, savings and insurance, and gender have been expanded substantially; a new section in the chapter on impact measurement describes the growing importance of randomized controlled trials; and the chapter on managing microfinance offers a new perspective on governance issues in transforming institutions. Appendixes and problem sets cover technical material. less Stuart RutherfordThe Economics of Microfinance is the book that I would love to have had when I was in those shanty towns in Managua. It is written by economists, but in a way that non-economists can easily understand. It asks and answers questions about poor people and the way they handle money. For example, why would poor people need to save when they have so little money to start with? Why did banks ignore the... (Source)
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