
Portfolios of the Poor
How the World's Poor Live on $2 a Day
Overview of Portfolios of the Poor
Discover how the world's poorest manage finances with stunning ingenuity. "Portfolios of the Poor" revolutionized development economics by revealing sophisticated money management strategies among those living on $2 daily. How do they save more effectively than many middle-class Americans? The answer reshapes everything we thought about poverty.
Key Themes in Portfolios of the Poor
- financial diaries
- informal savings mechanisms
- cash flow management
- microfinance limitations
- income volatility
Quotes from Portfolios of the Poor
The poorest people are some of the most active and sophisticated money managers.
Inadequate financial tools create a constant state of financial stress.
Child labor remained common in South Asia.
Every household actively managed both savings and debt simultaneously.
Lower incomes require more rather than less active financial management.
Characters in Portfolios of the Poor
- Daryl CollinsLead author and researcher of the study
- Subir and MumtazA couple in Dhaka managing multiple income sources
- Somnath and JainathBrothers working as garment factory workers
- Hamid and KhadejaA couple managing a complex six-instrument portfolio
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