'Discussed in this volume are important moral issues arising with the spread of microfinance as a poverty alleviation tool. The authors debate whether there is a human right to microfinance and, if so, whether this is a new human right or a conceptual expansion of conventional ones. These debates are especially useful because they closely examine the actual practice of microfinance: whether interest rates are excessive, for instance, and whether indefensible pressure is put on participants in group finance schemes. The volume's rigorous and empirically informed normative analyses are important for scholars and students focused on severe poverty, development practice and global justice.' Thomas Pogge, Yale University
'Is microfinance morally desirable and, if so, why? How does microfinance score relative to other policy instruments at reducing poverty or at promoting access to credit? This volume traces a systematic and insightful path through the normative and empirical thicket of microfinance practices today. It contains important lessons for both political philosophers and policy makers.' Peter Dietsch, Université de Montréal