“Think Again” Piece in Foreign Policy

February 1, 2012

Foreign Policy just published a piece I wrote in their Think Again format. The format is inherently contrarian, which makes it more fun, but my views on microfinance are not purely contrarian. See what you think of how I tried to strike a balance.

Possibly Related Posts

• India’s Microcredit Crisis: Applying CGD’s Policy Principles to Andhra Pradesh

Tweet  

1. Alex Counts Says:
   February 5th, 2012 at 10:23 pm

   Thanks for asking for reactions to your FP article. Overall, is not bad (especially considering the format), but it lacks the nuance of your book and many of your thoughtful blog posts. It claims that the “old studies” (of which there are more than 100 by my count) are discredited (a strong word to be sure) but the link goes to an analysis of just one of them. It might have been good if you defined “reverse causation” for the rest of us. Also, the limitations of the randomized studies are not referenced as they are in the book. The idea of a monolithic microfinance “mythology” is becoming something of a misleading straw man — many of us involved in promoting microfinance have been presenting a more nuanced view long before you began covering this issue.

2. David Roodman Says:
   February 6th, 2012 at 6:23 pm

   Alex,
   Thanks for your comments. Yes, it does lack the nuance of the book. To say that all the old studies are discredited is stronger than I would say it did I not feel the pressure to be terse. Yet it does convey the sense of the book, which is that the old studies seeming to show positive impacts are not to be relied upon.

   I agree that many promoters of microfinance have changed how they talk about it, for which they are to be congratulated. But I also think that public perception has been slower to change, so that the mythology still exists out there and deserves to be addressed. I think that was the view of Foreign Policy in requesting the article. I am optimistic that you are right that over time, “the mythology” will become more and more of a straw man.
   –David