I just wanted to share with DP members. Bangladeshi economist Muhammad Yunus wins Nobel and the Grameen BankPeace Prize. I am originally from Bangladesh. It is very proud moment for us. I could not resist myself. Although Dr. Yunus is an economist and we expected him to win Nobel in Economics but it has the same merit since his economic theory and work helped so many poor people, not only in Bangladesh but also all over the world. Congratulation to Dr. Yunus and his organization (Grameen bank).
I already started a thread about it, and the whole thing is a complete joke:http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=158879 You're not going to stop poverty by giving loans to third world nations......you just put them into debt, and then you're the one who will become wealthy off the interest.
Tesla, I think you've misunderstood. It isn't "third world nations" that get the loans, it's individuals in those "third world nations". They are microloans because they are tiny - averaging $200. Most banks wouldn't even bother with such small amounts, but it makes a huge difference in the life of a poor person who can use it to start a business. Yunus's bank has a 99% repayment rate. 97% of the people he (and his bank) has helped are women. He has made a real difference in the world. http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2006/10/13/international/i020724D52.DTL
Very interesting concept. I think we had a similar concept that was tested out in Malaysia and it was successful in the late 70s and 80s but after that no news about it since. Not sure what happened to it. - MENJ
Also Indian writer Kiran Desai, won the prestigious Booker Award. http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/arts/ceriradford/oct06/fame.htm
I'm Bangladeshi too and I think Bangladesh is full of potiential but no one is seeing it yet(infact I think several 3rd world countries are ful of potiential too).. I've just waited for something like this to happen...