Microfinance meeting the needs of poor consumers : a marketing myth?

Laurel R. Jackson; Richard Fletcher; Daniela Spanjaard; Sara M. Denize; Neeru Sharma

Microfinance meeting the needs of poor consumers : a marketing myth?

Laurel R. Jackson
, Richard Fletcher
, Daniela Spanjaard
, Sara M. Denize
, Neeru Sharma

School of Business

Research output: Chapter in Book / Conference Paper › Conference Paper

Abstract

We examine the weak foundations that form the basis of many assumptions being made about the poor and their money management (Ruthven, 2002).We examine the financial interfaces of the rural poor in an emerging Asian market and challenge the widely held view that microfinance is meeting the needs of a substantial number of poor consumers and contributing directly to poverty alleviation. Observation of the financial practices of the rural poor in Bangladesh suggests that microfinance is not increasing productivity or contributing to the creation of new entrepreneurial income producing activities for this group. An approach is proposed to enable closer examination of potential financial product alternatives that may serve this market more effectively.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Marketing: Shifting the Focus from Mainstream to Offbeat: Proceedings of the Australian and New Zealand Marketing Academy Conference, held 1 - 3 December 2008 Olympic Park, Sydney, N.S.W.
Publisher	Promaco Conventions for the ANZAM 2008 Conference
Number of pages	8
ISBN (Print)	1863081445
Publication status	Published - 2008
Event	Australian & New Zealand Marketing Academy. Conference - Duration: 3 Dec 2012 → …

Conference

Conference	Australian & New Zealand Marketing Academy. Conference
Period	3/12/12 → …

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 1 No Poverty
SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth

Keywords

microfinance
poor
developing countries
money management
consumers
Bangladesh

Cite this

Jackson, L. R., Fletcher, R., Spanjaard, D., Denize, S. M., & Sharma, N. (2008). Microfinance meeting the needs of poor consumers : a marketing myth? In Marketing: Shifting the Focus from Mainstream to Offbeat: Proceedings of the Australian and New Zealand Marketing Academy Conference, held 1 - 3 December 2008 Olympic Park, Sydney, N.S.W. Promaco Conventions for the ANZAM 2008 Conference.

Jackson, Laurel R. ; Fletcher, Richard ; Spanjaard, Daniela et al. / Microfinance meeting the needs of poor consumers : a marketing myth?. Marketing: Shifting the Focus from Mainstream to Offbeat: Proceedings of the Australian and New Zealand Marketing Academy Conference, held 1 - 3 December 2008 Olympic Park, Sydney, N.S.W.. Promaco Conventions for the ANZAM 2008 Conference, 2008.

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title = "Microfinance meeting the needs of poor consumers : a marketing myth?",

abstract = "We examine the weak foundations that form the basis of many assumptions being made about the poor and their money management (Ruthven, 2002).We examine the financial interfaces of the rural poor in an emerging Asian market and challenge the widely held view that microfinance is meeting the needs of a substantial number of poor consumers and contributing directly to poverty alleviation. Observation of the financial practices of the rural poor in Bangladesh suggests that microfinance is not increasing productivity or contributing to the creation of new entrepreneurial income producing activities for this group. An approach is proposed to enable closer examination of potential financial product alternatives that may serve this market more effectively.",

keywords = "microfinance, poor, developing countries, money management, consumers, Bangladesh",

author = "Jackson, \{Laurel R.\} and Richard Fletcher and Daniela Spanjaard and Denize, \{Sara M.\} and Neeru Sharma",

year = "2008",

language = "English",

isbn = "1863081445",

booktitle = "Marketing: Shifting the Focus from Mainstream to Offbeat: Proceedings of the Australian and New Zealand Marketing Academy Conference, held 1 - 3 December 2008 Olympic Park, Sydney, N.S.W.",

publisher = "Promaco Conventions for the ANZAM 2008 Conference",

note = "Australian \& New Zealand Marketing Academy. Conference ; Conference date: 03-12-2012",

}

Jackson, LR, Fletcher, R, Spanjaard, D, Denize, SM & Sharma, N 2008, Microfinance meeting the needs of poor consumers : a marketing myth? in Marketing: Shifting the Focus from Mainstream to Offbeat: Proceedings of the Australian and New Zealand Marketing Academy Conference, held 1 - 3 December 2008 Olympic Park, Sydney, N.S.W.. Promaco Conventions for the ANZAM 2008 Conference, Australian & New Zealand Marketing Academy. Conference, 3/12/12.

Microfinance meeting the needs of poor consumers : a marketing myth? / Jackson, Laurel R.; Fletcher, Richard; Spanjaard, Daniela et al.
Marketing: Shifting the Focus from Mainstream to Offbeat: Proceedings of the Australian and New Zealand Marketing Academy Conference, held 1 - 3 December 2008 Olympic Park, Sydney, N.S.W.. Promaco Conventions for the ANZAM 2008 Conference, 2008.