Bangladesh
Microfinance is very well covered, from the founder's own account to sceptical audits of the evidence. The ready-made garment industry that actually drives the economy has one serious English treatment (Seabrook) and no proper business history, which remains a real gap.
7 books
Start here
- Banker to the PoorMuhammad Yunus, 1998
- Portfolios of the PoorDaryl Collins, Jonathan Morduch, Stuart Rutherford, Orlanda Ruthven, 2009
- The Economics of MicrofinanceBeatriz Armendáriz, Jonathan Morduch, 2005
Books 7
Muhammad Yunus · 1998 · Founder's account of Grameen Bank and the economics of unsecured lending at scale.
Beatriz Armendáriz, Jonathan Morduch · 2005 · The standard analytical treatment of the lending model Bangladesh exported.
Daryl Collins, Jonathan Morduch, Stuart Rutherford, Orlanda Ruthven · 2009 · Financial diaries showing how poor Bangladeshi households actually manage money.
Just Faaland, J. R. Parkinson · 1976 · The founding pessimist study; useful baseline for what was later beaten.
David Roodman · 2011 · Sceptical audit of what microfinance evidence actually supports.
Jeremy Seabrook · 2014 · Dhaka's garment industry from Rana Plaza back through its supply chain.
David Lewis · 2011 · The one readable overview of how the state, NGOs and business interlock.