"Hope as Capability", by Esther Duflo
Tuesday, April 16, 2013 5:30pm
Sharpless Auditorium
"A few years ago, BRAC, one of the two pioneer microfinance institutions in Bangladesh, designed a program aimed at villagers that are too poor to be directly targeted by microfinance programs. Under this program, the poorest of the poor are identified by their fellow villagers (during a participatory process), and their poverty is verified during a home visit by BRAC agents. Potential beneficiaries are then offered a choice of assets (two cows, some goats, some chickens, a starting stock for a village shop, or a sewing machine, etc…), as well as a small stipend for a few months and weekly training sessions to teach participants both how to tend to animals and to manage their household lives. The program is currently being evaluated in several countries, including Bangladesh."
You can learn more about Dr. Duflo at her website: http://economics.mit.edu/faculty/eduflo
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