Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book outlines the core features of economic hyper-globalization since the 1990s, such as the rise of financialization, its overwhelmingly negative impact on income inequalities within and across countries and resultant tendencies towards secular stagnation and 'rentier capitalism' in advanced economies. It explains the issue of how well the various theories of microcredit impact have played out in practice, which helps to explain why microcredit has failed to work in the positive way that the basic theories put forward by microcredit advocates suggest it should have. The book explores the 'dark side' of what is considered by many microcredit advocates to be the world's most well-managed microcredit sector – Peru. It provides an important contribution on developments in the iconic 'home' of microcredit: Bangladesh.