Microenterprise,global poverty and social development

Abstract

English

Microenterprise and microfinance are widely promoted today as comprising an important anti-poverty strategy. While they have a role to play, this article shows that claims about their successes are exagge rated. It concludes that these programmes are most effective when incorporated into a wider set of social development policies and programmes specifically designed to address the problem of global poverty.

French

Micro-entreprise et micro-finance sont généralement présentées aujourd'hui comme faisant partie d'une importante stratégie anti-pauvreté. Bien qu'elles jouent effectivement un rôle, ce papier montre que leurs prétentions aux succés en la matiére sont exagérées. L'article conclut sur le fait que ces méthodes sont le plus efficaces lorsqu'elles sont intégrées dans un ensemble plus large de politiques de développement social et de programmes visant spécifiquement à résoudre le probléme de la pauvreté mondiale.

Spanish

Hoy se promueve ampliamente la pequeña empresa y el pequeño crédito como estrategia importantes en contra de la pobreza. Aunque dichas estrategias tienen un papel que cumplir, este ensayo muestra que se exageran sus éxitos. Se concluye que tales programas son más efectivos cuando se les incorpora a un conjunto más amplio de políticas sociales y programas específicamente diseñados para bregar con el problema de pobreza global.

Keywords

microenterprise microfinance Millennium Development Goals poverty social development

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