Publisher's Synopsis
Traditionally, rural communities in India have taken care of their own financial needs. This book discusses the performance of a number of financial agents in semi-arid Sangli, a district in Maharashtra. Informal intermediaries such as moneylenders, pawnbrokers, milk collectors, and several types of local self-help saving and credit associations are examined. Professor Bouman argues that deficiencies in the services of the formal sector have stimulated the appeal and activities of informal finance agents, who have proved better equipped to deal with the special demands of low income rural households in a mini-economy.
