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Posts Tagged: David Roodman

 

Muhammad Yunus Forced Out –Whither Microcredit? David Roodman

May 24, 2011

Posted by in Finance Tags: , ,

Muhammad Yunus has been forced by a Bangladesh court to step down as the head of the Grameen Bank, leaving the world to wonder what will become of the institution that helped inspire the microfinance revolution. On this week’s Wonkcast, we consider the rise and uncertain future of microcredit, not so long ago the darling of development experts and activists alike, and discuss whether or not the arc of Yunus’s remarkable life serves as an apt metaphor for the microfinance movement.

My guest is CGD senior fellow David Roodman, who has been tracking the Yunus trial since it began as part of his Microfinance Open Book Blog. The book in public on the blog, Due Diligence: An Impertinent Inquiry into Microfinance, is nearing completion and will be published before the end of the year.
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Unpacking India’s Microfinance Meltdown: David Roodman

November 30, 2010

Posted by in Asia, Finance, Poverty Tags: , ,

David RoodmanA crisis is unfolding in India’s microcredit sector that– beyond its immediate effects on borrowers and lenders– will greatly affect the future of financial services for the poor. I’m joined by David Roodman, senior fellow here at the Center for Global Development and author of the forthcoming book Due Diligence: A Guide to Microfinance (which he has shared step by step on his Open Book Blog). David recently traveled to Andhra Pradesh, the epicenter of the crisis. On the Wonkcast, he leads me through the story of the explosive growth of Indian microcredit– and its sudden fall from grace.

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David Roodman on Microfinance and a Year of Blogging

February 23, 2010

Posted by in Finance, Inequality, Poverty Tags: , ,

David RoodmanMy guest on this week’s show is David Roodman, a research fellow here at CGD who has spent the past year writing a book on microfinance. He has shared this experience online through his open book blog, posting chapter drafts, analyzing ongoing research in the field, and soliciting comments and suggestions. I ask David why he decided to write his book in such a public way, and what he’s learned over the last year.

David replies that when it comes to policy research, people write books for four reasons. “One is to help you think through a complicated process… Another is to provide a basis for shorter spin-off pieces… Another is to signal that you’re an expert about something. And then the last is, oh yeah, to write something for people to read.” David says blogging about the book-writing process has helped him to partially accomplish the first three goals even before the book is complete. It has also, somewhat unexpectedly he says, changed his writing style, something he discussed recently on the blog.

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Benchmarking America: The 2009 Commitment to Development Index

October 22, 2009

Posted by in Aid Effectiveness, Global Development, Private Investment, Trade Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Congratulations to Sweden for ranking first in CGD’s 2009 Commitment to Development Index (CDI) for the first time since the creation of the Index in 2003. The United States, meanwhile, manages only a meager 17th place among the 22 wealthy countries ranked. In Benchmarking America, our second Global Prosperity Wonkcast, I ask CDI architect David Roodman to tell us why Sweden ranks first, why the United States gets such a mediocre score, and why Japan and Korea once again fall at the bottom of the list. Whether or not you are a podcast listener, I urge you to take a look at the greatly enhanced 2009 CDI Web site (now multilingual!). You can also watch the Webinar and read the brief or press release.

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