The UNDP has set Millennium Goals which include the halving of world poverty by 2015. This can be viewed in the light of enlightened self interest, including noneconomic interest, within the above view. This was translated into reducing by half the number of people living in abject poverty. We...

At a time when suicides by microfinance borrowers in Andhra Pradesh are extensively discussed, this paper makes an initial tentative exploration into the impact of microfinance on suicides. Does MF reduce or increase suicides? Data limitations imply methodological limitations and provisional...

Our purpose is to show that the microfinance industry practices can benefit from the culture and spiritual traditions of a country.We use the Bhagavad Gita and the codes of Manu and Kautilya to describe the background of Hindu teaching and practical wisdom. We use a case study of a Hindu...