
Nicholas Loubere
Senior lecturer

Indebted to Development : Microcredit as (De)marginalisation in Rural China
Author
Summary, in English
Microcredit schemes have been increasingly incorporated into development policiesthat aim to de-marginalise rural China. Based on in-depth ethnographicfieldwork,this paper examines the various roles that microcredit programmes play indevelopment outcomes at the local level. It demonstrates that microcredit has theability to facilitate the de-marginalisation of certain individuals/groups, whilesimultaneously (re)producing inequalities, thus exacerbating the marginalisation ofothers. Thisfinding demonstrates that microcredit does not induce uniform,predictable and linear development through the integration of marginal places andpeople into the formalfinancial system and wider economy. Instead, microcreditprogrammes reflect and reinforce the interlocking sets of unequal relationships thatare the root cause of marginality and underdevelopment in China. Through thisdetailed analysis of the contradictory outcomes of Chinese microcreditprogrammes, this paper provides the basis for a wider relational critique ofmicrocredit as an intervention aimed at inducing a specific type ofmarket-oriented linear development that is beneficial for some and detrimental forothers.
Department/s
- Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies, Lund University
Publishing year
2018
Language
English
Pages
585-609
Publication/Series
Journal of Peasant Studies
Volume
45
Issue
3
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
Routledge
Topic
- Other Social Sciences
Keywords
- Asian Studies
- Development Studies
- Rural development
- China
Status
Published
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 1743-9361