1st Edition
The Microfinance Mirage The Politics of Poverty, Social Capital and Women's Empowerment in Ethiopia
Biography
Esayas Bekele Geleta is a lecturer in sociology in Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Vancouver, Canada. He previously lectured in sociology in the National University of Ireland, Maynooth and held a teaching fellow position in the University of Limerick, Ireland and a part time lecturer position in University College Cork. He also worked as an assistant editor of the Irish Journal of Sociology. The key areas of his current research and teaching include the political economy of development and underdevelopment, social justice, the sociology of human rights, globalisation, microfinance, the sociology of work, the sociology of race and ethnicity and the ethics and the politics of sociological research.
’This book is desperately needed, because it ends many of the illusions of microfinance by venturing into themes unexamined by scholars and practitioners alike. This theoretically informed and empirically grounded study promises to become a basic resource in understanding the widening gap between the promises and realities of microfinance and opens a space for a dialogue to reorient microfinance and make it more socially responsible.’ Jude Fernando, Clark University, USA ’This book makes a valuable contribution to understanding the social and political impact and implications of microfinance schemes as poverty reduction strategies. Focused on a detailed examination of the Amhara Credit and Savings Institution (ACSI) in Northern Ethiopia, it is a timely and important addition to critical ethnographic research on microfinance. This carefully developed analysis of wider contexts around microfinance and gendered social relations is an important touchstone for future work.’ Heloise Weber, The University of Queensland, Australia
