Does ‘microlending’ actually fight poverty?

Re:Does ‘microlending’ actually fight poverty? by JulianMorrison on Sunday September 20, 2009 @06:32PM (#833647)

Entrepreneurial skill is a rare human trait. But they lift the rest of us beyond starting from scratch with flint and bearskins, so it shouldn't be dismissed just because it isn't universal. Have those same studies looked at accumulation of capital and infrastructural reinvestment in regions saturated with microcredit? I suspect a left wing bias that views the rising few with suspicion.

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Re:Does ‘microlending’ actually fight poverty? by herval on Sunday September 20, 2009 @07:13PM (#833687)

IMHO, entrepeneurial skill is not a 'human trait', gift or anything - it's just a skill, like any other - you can develop it if you absolutely need it to survive (usually the case for microlenders). I'd say the reason why there are usually less entrepeneurs than 'normal' people is more on taste than 'talent': if you're doing just fine with a paycheck, why bother?

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Re:Does ‘microlending’ actually fight poverty? by JulianMorrison on Sunday September 20, 2009 @07:29PM (#833711)

I'm curious to see your evidence. I have noticed in life many businesses that pay the salary and the rent, but I wouldn't count them as entrepreneurial - they lack the explosive upward trajectory, and I don't think I was just seeing the slow part of the exponential. Real skill as an entrepreneur seems to me more like perfect pitch - a mutation.

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Re:Does ‘microlending’ actually fight poverty? by herval on Sunday September 20, 2009 @09:05PM (#833820)

an entrepreneur is "a person who organizes and manages a business undertaking, assuming the risk for the sake of the profit."

so your definition of entrepreneur is probably a bit narrower than the usual definition... :-)

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Re:Does ‘microlending’ actually fight poverty? by kiba on Sunday September 20, 2009 @07:48PM (#833740)

Part of being an entrepeneur is the ability to exploit information from not only prices, but also non-price information that would be hard to find from simply looking at prices.

Another part is the ability to marshall resources to capture these opportunity. That may take a perfect pitch, an eye for talents, or something else entirely.

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Re:Does ‘microlending’ actually fight poverty? by herval on Sunday September 20, 2009 @09:11PM (#833828)

with regards to becoming an entrepreneur for simple need, I've seen this happen a lot in my country (specially in my region, which is quite poor): a lot of people doing business simply because there aren't really any other options. Same happens in the countryside (many people don't see agricultural activity as 'entrepreneurship' though).

Also, the number of startups tends to rise during recessions could be interpreted the same way: the more people lose their regular jobs, the more entrepeneurs enter the rig. Talented or not, willingly or not... [1]

[1] http://www.wired.com/culture/culturereviews/magazine/17-06/n...

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Re:Does ‘microlending’ actually fight poverty? by ngs on Sunday September 20, 2009 @07:43PM (#833736)

IMO, entrepreneurialism is an inate human trait. However, this doesn't mean it's expressed in everyone you meet, day-in-day-out. It clealy isn't. It's possible technology is simply an accidental expression of this trait. Which is interesting yet terrifying if true.

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Re:Does ‘microlending’ actually fight poverty? by cwan on Sunday September 20, 2009 @07:07PM (#833681)

It does seem a bit too convenient that they are reporting on and reporting the researcher conclusions without feeling the need to actually publish the underlying research and opening themselves to scrutiny - but hopefully that will come out soon enough.

The difficulty of doing this in the field is trying to figure out what the appropriate methodologies to use are. It's not like it's easy to collect this information over time and ensure people are forthcoming (and in many regions where microfinance thrives, the poor are especially and legitimately suspicious of authority and people wanting personal information). Collecting information often becomes a messy process in collecting objective and comprehensive data.

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Re:Does ‘microlending’ actually fight poverty? by HeyLaughingBoy on Sunday September 20, 2009 @07:37PM (#833721)

I disagree. But I can admit that it depends on your definition of entrepreneurial.

My definition is simply someone who goes into business for themselves as opposed to getting a job. Taken that way, most people will be entrepreneurial given a good enough reason; and it's far from rare.

Also, it's surprising how many people work full time and have small side businesses they run part time. I believe I read a report that said the majority of US businesses are part-time, one-person only.

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