ABSTRACT
This chapter explores how the idea of ‘smart economics’ has significantly influenced development programming in the past decade. ‘Smart economics’ is based on the idea that investing in women’s economic empowerment is ‘smart’ because it is purported to aid both women and the economy. This chapter details how the rise of ‘smart economics’ has further influenced microcredit programming and a focus on narrow models of economic empowerment. It explains how this model can be contrasted with a more holistic feminist version of empowerment which seeks transformative change beyond economic outcomes. This chapter further compares these models within microcredit practice, providing examples from research with SHGs in West Bengal, India.
