A recent op-ed in the Boston Globe argues that microlending
"doesn't actually do much to fight poverty" and that it may be
time to "think macro rather than micro." Maybe the hype
surrounding microcredit as a panacea for everything from poverty
to discrimination is undeserved. But debunking the whole bottom-
up, micro approach on the basis of two unpublished papers is not
just premature, but dangerous. Macro, trickle-down development
policies have rather effectively kept billions of people poor
for decades. In comparison, the microfinance field is young,
evolving, and ripe with innovation. Lending to the poor is just
one facet of microfinance. And helping the poor save, before or
along with providing credit, might be the missing piece to help
solve the poverty puzzle. Some argue that it is naive or even
cruel to suggest that the poor should save. How can people
living in destitution be asked to set money aside? It turns out
that even very poor people can and do save if provided with the
right opportunities. Aft