Publication

This paper is set in the context of the late 2010 micro-credit crisis in Andhra Pradesh in India that sent alarm bells ringing across the world about the dangers of fast growth in the industry. The author finds that micro-credit might not be the ladder out of poverty as envisaged three decades earlier, but definitely acts as a critical lifebuoy which keeps a poor household afloat. Sudden and complete withdrawal of credit like that experienced by borrowers in Andhra Pradesh has a huge negative impact on the well-being of the poor.