{"product_id":"we-are-not-able-to-mara-kardas-nelson-9781250817228","title":"We Are Not Able to Live in the Sky: The Seductive Promise of Microfinance","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA deeply reported work of journalism that explores the promises and perils of microfinance, told through the eyes of those who work in small-scale lending and women borrowers in West Africa \u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn the mid-1970s, Muhammad Yunus, an American-trained Bangladeshi economist, met a poor female stool maker who needed money to expand her business. In an act known as the beginning of microfinance, Yunus lent $27 to 42 women, hoping small credit would help them to pull themselves out of poverty. Soon, Yunus' Grameen Bank was born, and very small, often high-interest loans for poor people took off. In 2006, Yunus and the Grameen Bank won the Nobel Peace Prize \"for...creat[ing] economic and social development from below.\" \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBut there's a problem with this story. There are mounting concerns that these small loans are as likely to bury poor people in debt as they are to pull them from poverty, with borrowers from India to Kenya facing consequences such as jail time and forced land sales. Hundreds have even reportedly committed suicide. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhat happened? Did microfinance take a wrong turn, or was microfinance flawed from the beginning? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eMara Kardas-Nelson's\u003ci\u003e We Are Not Able to Live in the Sky\u003c\/i\u003e is a story about unintended consequences, blind optimism, and the decades-long ramifications of seemingly small policy choices, rooted in the stories of women borrowers in Sierra Leone, West Africa; their narratives are set against the rise of Yunus's vision that tiny loans would \"put poverty in museums,\" explored through a deep history of modern international development. Kardas-Nelson asks: What is missed with a single, financially-focused solution to global inequity that ignores the real drivers of poverty? Who stands to benefit and, more important, who gets left behind?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Mara Kardas-Nelson\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1250817226\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781250817228\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Metropolitan Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 06\/11\/2024\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 400\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.00lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.25h x 6.12w x 1.00d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 03\/15\/2024\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 04\/15\/2024","brand":"Mara Kardas-Nelson","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":44540425273599,"sku":"9781250817228","price":31.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_0c7b3718-6671-4926-b5f5-de410dac048f.jpg?v=1700587827","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/we-are-not-able-to-mara-kardas-nelson-9781250817228","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}