I have written a number of books and articles that deal with inclusive finance, poverty, and inequality in the world. With these books and articles, I give readers background information and challenge them to explore these topics further.
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How Freedom is Key to Wealth Creation and Prosperity for All. (self-published, 2022)
This book argues that if we really want to reduce poverty and inequality in the world, we need to examine its history. How did poverty become a thing of the past in rich countries, and what can poor countries learn from these experiences? What lessons do they have for bilateral and multilateral development organizations?
The book has three parts. Part 1 discusses how we define poverty and inequality, and how reliable are the statistics. How should we understand the process of globalization?
Part 2 explains why the world is divided into groups of poor and rich countries. What has happened in the last 200 years that has caused this inequality, and what forces are responsible for this development? What is the role of freedom in combating poverty?
Part 3 discusses what 70 years of development cooperation has achieved. How should be interpret these results? Why is it so difficult for bilateral and multilateral development organizations abandon their economic development models and focus more on people?
The Quest to End Poverty and Worldwide Inequality wants to find answers to all of these questions. The book is revealing and inspiring for anyone who really wants to know the facts about poverty and inequality.
(Freedom is Not Just another Word: The Origin of Poverty, Wealth, and Inequality).
This book is about global trends in poverty, wealth accumulation, and inequality and how to manage excesses. The book argues that everywhere there are people with talents to tackle poverty. However, to do so, they must have the freedom to use these talents. However, people in poor countries are curtailed in expressing ideas and carrying out activities, and they do not receive assistance to pursue their potential.
Rich countries assist African countries to overcome poverty. Their financial and technical aid is based on the idea that poor countries are in a vicious cycle of poverty. Their models moreover suggest that what has helped rich countries in the past can help poor countries today. But these development models are not aligned with how poor people want to improve their lives.
Another major obstacle to ending poverty through development aid, is that poor countries do not have well-functioning political and economic institutions that work for the people, and that can efficiently and effectively allocate development money.
With this book, I want to give new impetus to the stalled discussion on development cooperation in the Netherlands.
Microcredit has received a lot of interest in global development thinking. The United Nations has even declared 2005 "Microcredit Year". International donors believe that the provision of small loans is an effective and efficient way to end poverty. Some development experts even believe that microcredit can emancipate women, fight climate change, and trigger socio-economic changes at the bottom of the pyramid. At the same time, very few experts challenge the way microcredit wants to lift the poor out of poverty, and even fewer try to analyze the investment opportunities the poor have. In addition, very few studies examine the financial behavior at the grass roots and do not want to understand why despite microcredit the informal finance sector is still very important to the poor.
This book critically examines the assumptions about how microcredit wants to tackle poverty. Is it true, that the poor are only or mainly dependent on self-employment to generate income? Is lack of capital the biggest constraint of micro-entrepreneurs? How much lending risk are poor people willing to take to start or expand a business? Are the financial products of the microfinance industry (MFI) aligned to the needs of the poor? Do the poor really repay the loan with investment proceeds?
Through a case study in the Philippines, this book finds answers to these questions and assesses the importance of microcredit interventions for the rural and urban poor.
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HOW FREEDOM IS KEY TO WEALTH CREATION AND PROSPERITY FOR ALL
In my book, "The Quest to End Poverty and Worldwide Inequality," I delve into the history of poverty and inequality. I explain the reasons why the world is divided in rich and poor countries. I also discuss the role of freedom in combating poverty and reducing global inequality. Finally, I review the achievements of 70 years of development cooperation and the challenges bilateral and multilateral development organizations have when reducing worldwide poverty. This book is an important resource for anyone seeking to understand the root causes of poverty and inequality and the steps we can take to address these. It is revealing, informative, and inspiring, providing valuable insights and thought-provoking views.
DE OORSPRONG VAN ARMOEDE, RIJKDOM EN ONGELIJKHEID
(Freedom is Not Just another Word: The Origin of Poverty, Wealth, and Inequality).
In this book, I argue that while there are many talented people in poor countries, they are often held back by political and socio-cultural restrictions. They cannot express ideas and carry out activities and lack the support they need to pursue their goals. I also discuss the shortcomings of traditional development models, which are not aligned to the needs of people living in poverty, and the importance of strong political and economic institutions in poor countries.
With this book, I want to stimulate a new and more profound discussion on development cooperation in the Netherlands.
From policy assumption to grassroots financial behavior.
Microcredit has long been viewed as a the most promising intervention to end global poverty. Few studies however, have critically examined the assumptions underlying microcredit in addressing poverty and even fewer have studied the financial behavior of the poor and the role the informal finance sector plays in their lives. This book wants to fill these gaps by presenting a case study in the Philippines that explores the importance of microcredit interventions for rural and urban poor. In this book I also review the financial and non-financial constraints of micro-entrepreneurs and the alignment of microfinance products to their needs. By examining these issues, the book offers a more nuanced understanding of the role of microcredit in poverty reduction and its potential to improve the economic prospects of small businesses.
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This is an article I wrote in “Development Matters”. Financial flows are essential for the economic development of rural areas in poor countries, and microcredit is a particularly important source of financing poor families and family businesses. However, it is not always true that capital is scarce in rural areas. In fact, data collected by central banks and other institutions often show that rural areas are net exporters of capital, meaning that more capital is leaving rural areas than what microfinance institutions pump into these economies. In this article I examine the forces behind this counter-flow of funds and what it means for the effectiveness of microcredit as a tool to reduce poverty.
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This is my contribution in “Combating Chil" Labour. In 1986, a documentary of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation disclosed the horrific working conditions of children working in the Muro-Ami Deep Sea Fishing sector. It sparked an outrage in the Philippines and called for immediate action to end child labor. However, the root causes of child labor in poor countries are complex and deeply rooted in local economic and political conditions. This case study examines this environment and illustrates the challenges when eradicating child labor, but also offers ideas how to improve labor conditions and reduce the use of child labor.
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