Week of April 22, 2011

Lots of articles and blogs worth looking at this week. Everything from Milford Bateman’s take on why microfinance isn’t working to how the Mexican government built rigorous impact evaluation programs into its policy processes. Check it out and please add any must reads we missed via comments.
•    How We Choose--Looking at household healthcare choices in the U.S. and India 
•    IRIN Asia: Microfinance institutions pushed loans, admits BRAC 
•    "6 microfinance crises that the sector does not want to remember" at Microfinance Focus
•    Behavioral Economics and Microfinance: A Review of the Literature 
•    “Yunus’ unceremonious removal from Grameen Bank does Bangladesh no favours” says Barun Roy at the Business Standard  
•    "Has the microfinance bubble really burst?" Guest blog by Milford Bateman
•    The case for microfinance: responses to Milford Bateman from Malcolm Harper and Thankom Arun 
•    CNNMoney.com, “In developing economies, equity beats microfinance”
•    CGAP series on savings: The Power of Successful, Market-led Savings Mobilization 
•    Indian Banks Seek Personal Guarantees from Microfinance Executives for Debt Restructuring
•    Miguel Székely explains how the Mexican government built rigorous impact evaluation into its policy process 
•    Andhra Pradesh government may start its own microfinance institution as a channel for credit to SHGs 
•    “The microfinance industry under the microscope” in The Globe and Mail