Name: Portfolios of the Poor
ISBN: 9780691141480

Daryl Collins

In this work, the authors report on the yearlong 'financial diaries' of villagers and slum dwellers in Bangladesh, India, and South Africa. The stories of these families are often surprising and inspiring.

How the World's Poor Live on $2 a Day

Portfolios of the Poor

Rohini Anandamurugan

This book was an eye-opener for me. The authors cover the financial lives of people who live under $2/day across three countries to help us understand them better. They use a good mix of quantitative and qualitative data to paint a vivid picture of their lives. 

This book answered many questions that I had: How do poor people afford big events (such as weddings)? How do they save money to buy assets (upward mobility, perhaps)? Who did they borrow from? How can we bring them into the formal sector? etc etc

The book covered all of these, plus much more - questions that I didn't even know that I had to ask. 

There are certain aspects that I found to be missing, such as addressing the role gender or social class played in the financial lives of poor people. They were certainly acknowledged, but I didn't see them being reflected in the financial diaries or in any of the conclusions the author made. As much as I understand that it would greatly widen the scope of the book, I'm also curious to see if certain conclusions would have been different, if those issues were taken into consideration.

Nonetheless, it was a fantastic read and I am certain that I would be recommending it to everyone I know!

Portfolios of the Poor How the World's Poor Live on $2 a Day