Econ 050: does foreign aid work? | The Northern Times
NorthenTimes
logo The Northern Times
  • News
    • All
    • Economics
    • Politics
    • Sports
    • Tech
    Employment levels in the province of Drenthe on the rise

    Employment levels in the province of Drenthe on the rise

    Pioneering cancer therapy at UMCG shows ‘amazing’ results

    Pioneering cancer therapy at UMCG shows ‘amazing’ results

    Northern entrepreneurs pin hopes to hyperloop with playful campaign

    Northern entrepreneurs pin hopes to hyperloop with playful campaign

    NS coming through with faster connection between Leeuwarden, Groningen and the Randstad

    Night train from the Randstad to Groningen/Assen will continue to run on Friday nights

    New tunnel opens at Groningen’s most important railway crossing

    New tunnel opens at Groningen’s most important railway crossing

    Groningen volleyball team Lycurgus, former Eredivisie champions, to face Hungarian opposition in the European Challenge Cup

    Groningen volleyball team Lycurgus, former Eredivisie champions, to face Hungarian opposition in the European Challenge Cup

    Gemeente Leeuwarden suffers from poverty problem, Groningen has second-highest number of low income families

    Gemeente Leeuwarden suffers from poverty problem, Groningen has second-highest number of low income families

    Arrests in Groningen after farmers protests get out of hand: protest-leader in custody

    Not entirely public-friendly protest from farmers next wednesday

    Two-thirds of farmers must seek financial care

    Two-thirds of farmers must seek financial care

    Trending Tags

    • Lifestyle
      • All
      • Food & Drinks
      • Nightlife
      • Shopping
      • What's happening
      First seal pup of the winter taken in by Pieterburen

      First seal pup of the winter taken in by Pieterburen

      Initiative to keep more Leeuwarder wool in Friesland

      Initiative to keep more Leeuwarder wool in Friesland

      French Carabosse Company to take over Leeuwarden with magical ”Installation de Feu” show

      French Carabosse Company to take over Leeuwarden with magical ”Installation de Feu” show

      Residents of province of Drenthe receive most Christmas cards from all provinces in the Netherlands

      Residents of province of Drenthe receive most Christmas cards from all provinces in the Netherlands

      Parkrun to sound starting pistol in Groningen in February

      Parkrun to sound starting pistol in Groningen in February

      Historic ships moor in Groningen for WinterWelVaart

      Historic ships moor in Groningen for WinterWelVaart

      Swedish Christmas Market to return to Groningen next weekend

      Swedish Christmas Market to return to Groningen next weekend

      Leeuwarden to hold Dutch premier of Fair Saturday

      Leeuwarden to hold Dutch premier of Fair Saturday

      The best new cocktail bar in the Netherlands can be found on the Oosterstraat in Groningen

      The best new cocktail bar in the Netherlands can be found on the Oosterstraat in Groningen

      Trending Tags

      • Culture
        • All
        • Dutch history
        • Typical Dutch
        After 135 years Vincent van Gogh returns to Drenthe – Museum buys painting from 1883

        Van Gogh painting on display in Drents Museum from next week: entrance on the first day is free!

        World Press Photo Groningen to end with a flourish with ‘finissage’ event

        World Press Photo Groningen to end with a flourish with ‘finissage’ event

        Barack Obama puts name to copy of Forum Groningen in Chicago

        Barack Obama puts name to copy of Forum Groningen in Chicago

        Forum Groningen opens to fanfare: but what do visitors really think?

        Forum Groningen opens to fanfare: but what do visitors really think?

        Legendary Frisian weather broadcaster Piet Paulusma: “it will be a messy winter, but we will be able to skate!”

        Legendary Frisian weather broadcaster Piet Paulusma: “it will be a messy winter, but we will be able to skate!”

        Frisian lady buys cup for 1 euro then auctions it for almost 3,000 euros

        Frisian lady buys cup for 1 euro then auctions it for almost 3,000 euros

        Two weeks of treats and free bike-checks for cyclists going in and out of Groningen

        Two weeks of treats and free bike-checks for cyclists going in and out of Groningen

        Homesick boulder has returned to Finland after 200,000 years in Drenthe

        Homesick boulder has returned to Finland after 200,000 years in Drenthe

        Prison museum (Veenhuizen)

        The Prison Museum in Drenthe and the Nature Museum in Friesland are the most child-friendly museums in the North

        Trending Tags

        • People
          • All
          • Expats
          • International students
          Leeuwarden: a rather unexpected place

          Leeuwarden: a rather unexpected place

          A ‘global nomad’ settles in Groningen

          A ‘global nomad’ settles in Groningen

          Write for Rights: Support human rights with a letter this December

          Write for Rights: Support human rights with a letter this December

          Hospital in Groningen gives dog the opportunity to say goodbye to dying owner

          Hospital in Groningen gives dog the opportunity to say goodbye to dying owner

          Hello_Festival_Emmen

          Local hero: it is time to choose the Emmenaar of the Year

          Multilocal 2.0: What we can learn from a TED speaker about being local in Groningen

          Multilocal 2.0: What we can learn from a TED speaker about being local in Groningen

          Help a homeless person out this winter – give away your old coat!

          Help a homeless person out this winter – give away your old coat!

          DUO used prohibited tracking software in personal e-mails

          Study debt of students in Groningen and elsewhere in The Netherlands is “irresponsibly high”

          RUG: international students should also be on university boards

          Trending Tags

          • Opportunities
            • All
            • business
            • Education
            econ_050_horizontal

            Econ 050: public health activism

            “We do not have all the know-how ourselves, but we can connect the know-how”: an interview with Johannes Boonstra of Wetsus

            “We do not have all the know-how ourselves, but we can connect the know-how”: an interview with Johannes Boonstra of Wetsus

            German student and Alzheimers patient find friendship on a bicycle

            German student and Alzheimers patient find friendship on a bicycle

            Drents entrepreneur of the year to be announced this week

            Drents entrepreneur of the year to be announced this week

            Worldwide interest for major competition to increase sustainability in the chemicals/energy sector of Noord-Groningen

            Worldwide interest for major competition to increase sustainability in the chemicals/energy sector of Noord-Groningen

            econ_050_horizontal

            Econ 050: does foreign aid work?

            Colleges in Northern Netherlands score well in Keuzegids 2020 rankings

            Colleges in Northern Netherlands score well in Keuzegids 2020 rankings

            ‘We welcome international creativity’: an interview with Camilla Spadari and Srinidhi Desikan of NonFiction Photo

            ‘We welcome international creativity’: an interview with Camilla Spadari and Srinidhi Desikan of NonFiction Photo

            Botniastins building in Franeker to become university building

            Botniastins building in Franeker to become university building

            Trending Tags

            • Agenda
            The Northern Times
            • News
              • All
              • Economics
              • Politics
              • Sports
              • Tech
              Employment levels in the province of Drenthe on the rise

              Employment levels in the province of Drenthe on the rise

              Pioneering cancer therapy at UMCG shows ‘amazing’ results

              Pioneering cancer therapy at UMCG shows ‘amazing’ results

              Northern entrepreneurs pin hopes to hyperloop with playful campaign

              Northern entrepreneurs pin hopes to hyperloop with playful campaign

              NS coming through with faster connection between Leeuwarden, Groningen and the Randstad

              Night train from the Randstad to Groningen/Assen will continue to run on Friday nights

              New tunnel opens at Groningen’s most important railway crossing

              New tunnel opens at Groningen’s most important railway crossing

              Groningen volleyball team Lycurgus, former Eredivisie champions, to face Hungarian opposition in the European Challenge Cup

              Groningen volleyball team Lycurgus, former Eredivisie champions, to face Hungarian opposition in the European Challenge Cup

              Gemeente Leeuwarden suffers from poverty problem, Groningen has second-highest number of low income families

              Gemeente Leeuwarden suffers from poverty problem, Groningen has second-highest number of low income families

              Arrests in Groningen after farmers protests get out of hand: protest-leader in custody

              Not entirely public-friendly protest from farmers next wednesday

              Two-thirds of farmers must seek financial care

              Two-thirds of farmers must seek financial care

              Trending Tags

              • Lifestyle
                • All
                • Food & Drinks
                • Nightlife
                • Shopping
                • What's happening
                First seal pup of the winter taken in by Pieterburen

                First seal pup of the winter taken in by Pieterburen

                Initiative to keep more Leeuwarder wool in Friesland

                Initiative to keep more Leeuwarder wool in Friesland

                French Carabosse Company to take over Leeuwarden with magical ”Installation de Feu” show

                French Carabosse Company to take over Leeuwarden with magical ”Installation de Feu” show

                Residents of province of Drenthe receive most Christmas cards from all provinces in the Netherlands

                Residents of province of Drenthe receive most Christmas cards from all provinces in the Netherlands

                Parkrun to sound starting pistol in Groningen in February

                Parkrun to sound starting pistol in Groningen in February

                Historic ships moor in Groningen for WinterWelVaart

                Historic ships moor in Groningen for WinterWelVaart

                Swedish Christmas Market to return to Groningen next weekend

                Swedish Christmas Market to return to Groningen next weekend

                Leeuwarden to hold Dutch premier of Fair Saturday

                Leeuwarden to hold Dutch premier of Fair Saturday

                The best new cocktail bar in the Netherlands can be found on the Oosterstraat in Groningen

                The best new cocktail bar in the Netherlands can be found on the Oosterstraat in Groningen

                Trending Tags

                • Culture
                  • All
                  • Dutch history
                  • Typical Dutch
                  After 135 years Vincent van Gogh returns to Drenthe – Museum buys painting from 1883

                  Van Gogh painting on display in Drents Museum from next week: entrance on the first day is free!

                  World Press Photo Groningen to end with a flourish with ‘finissage’ event

                  World Press Photo Groningen to end with a flourish with ‘finissage’ event

                  Barack Obama puts name to copy of Forum Groningen in Chicago

                  Barack Obama puts name to copy of Forum Groningen in Chicago

                  Forum Groningen opens to fanfare: but what do visitors really think?

                  Forum Groningen opens to fanfare: but what do visitors really think?

                  Legendary Frisian weather broadcaster Piet Paulusma: “it will be a messy winter, but we will be able to skate!”

                  Legendary Frisian weather broadcaster Piet Paulusma: “it will be a messy winter, but we will be able to skate!”

                  Frisian lady buys cup for 1 euro then auctions it for almost 3,000 euros

                  Frisian lady buys cup for 1 euro then auctions it for almost 3,000 euros

                  Two weeks of treats and free bike-checks for cyclists going in and out of Groningen

                  Two weeks of treats and free bike-checks for cyclists going in and out of Groningen

                  Homesick boulder has returned to Finland after 200,000 years in Drenthe

                  Homesick boulder has returned to Finland after 200,000 years in Drenthe

                  Prison museum (Veenhuizen)

                  The Prison Museum in Drenthe and the Nature Museum in Friesland are the most child-friendly museums in the North

                  Trending Tags

                  • People
                    • All
                    • Expats
                    • International students
                    Leeuwarden: a rather unexpected place

                    Leeuwarden: a rather unexpected place

                    A ‘global nomad’ settles in Groningen

                    A ‘global nomad’ settles in Groningen

                    Write for Rights: Support human rights with a letter this December

                    Write for Rights: Support human rights with a letter this December

                    Hospital in Groningen gives dog the opportunity to say goodbye to dying owner

                    Hospital in Groningen gives dog the opportunity to say goodbye to dying owner

                    Hello_Festival_Emmen

                    Local hero: it is time to choose the Emmenaar of the Year

                    Multilocal 2.0: What we can learn from a TED speaker about being local in Groningen

                    Multilocal 2.0: What we can learn from a TED speaker about being local in Groningen

                    Help a homeless person out this winter – give away your old coat!

                    Help a homeless person out this winter – give away your old coat!

                    DUO used prohibited tracking software in personal e-mails

                    Study debt of students in Groningen and elsewhere in The Netherlands is “irresponsibly high”

                    RUG: international students should also be on university boards

                    Trending Tags

                    • Opportunities
                      • All
                      • business
                      • Education
                      econ_050_horizontal

                      Econ 050: public health activism

                      “We do not have all the know-how ourselves, but we can connect the know-how”: an interview with Johannes Boonstra of Wetsus

                      “We do not have all the know-how ourselves, but we can connect the know-how”: an interview with Johannes Boonstra of Wetsus

                      German student and Alzheimers patient find friendship on a bicycle

                      German student and Alzheimers patient find friendship on a bicycle

                      Drents entrepreneur of the year to be announced this week

                      Drents entrepreneur of the year to be announced this week

                      Worldwide interest for major competition to increase sustainability in the chemicals/energy sector of Noord-Groningen

                      Worldwide interest for major competition to increase sustainability in the chemicals/energy sector of Noord-Groningen

                      econ_050_horizontal

                      Econ 050: does foreign aid work?

                      Colleges in Northern Netherlands score well in Keuzegids 2020 rankings

                      Colleges in Northern Netherlands score well in Keuzegids 2020 rankings

                      ‘We welcome international creativity’: an interview with Camilla Spadari and Srinidhi Desikan of NonFiction Photo

                      ‘We welcome international creativity’: an interview with Camilla Spadari and Srinidhi Desikan of NonFiction Photo

                      Botniastins building in Franeker to become university building

                      Botniastins building in Franeker to become university building

                      Trending Tags

                      • Agenda
                      The Northern Times
                      logo The Northern Times
                      Home Econ 050
                      econ_050_horizontal

                      Econ 050: does foreign aid work?

                      Econ 050 by Econ 050
                      November 22, 2019
                      in Econ 050, Opportunities
                      0
                      Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

                      Welcome to Econ 050: Economics and business that matters to the Netherlands and the world. In each episode, Northern Times editor Traci White interviews a new expert about everything from trade wars to the psychology in your shopping cart. This podcast is a co-production between The Northern Times and the Faculty of Economics and Business of the University of Groningen.

                      Microcredit was a major buzzword in the world of development aid in recent years, being breathlessly praised as a breakthrough panacea. But our guest today, professor Robert Lensink of the Faculty of Economics and Business of the University of Groningen, says that providing small amounts of financial support to individuals and projects can still be an effective tool, like most other trends, some bad actors took advantage of it and exploited the men and women on the receiving end.

                      Microfinance can still be a powerful tool when its recipients are equipped with the right tools to protect themselves, but what is the effectiveness of other forms of intervention? Can aid ever be a true silver bullet, or does the entire system need to change first? Professor Lensink sat down with Econ 050 to discuss about the pros and cons of intervention.

                      What is an intervention?

                      Robert Lensink: So intervention is coming a little bit maybe for medical sciences, to use that word, to describe giving a treatment. So what I do is, there are all types of interventions – so NGOs, if you talk about development aid, NGOs typically do interventions. They give people aid. They give people a cooking stove, for instance, they can give people training.

                      What is microcredit, and how did it go from being seen as a miracle to a predatory practice?

                      Lensink: Microcredit means small amount of credit. And it’s basically it’s a small amount of credit to people who don’t have access to normal commercial banks. So it’s credit for the unbanked people. So it’s meant to let’s say includes people who are not included in the financial system, to include them in the financial system with a small amount of credit. The idea was this small amount of credit could induce people to set up a firm, small businesses, small shops and it was meant to be used for small investments. As I said, it was very popular until maybe 2000 a little bit later and then maybe a bit later to around 2008. And then suddenly, the atmosphere completely changed. So there were a couple of scandals. Microcredit was kind of accused for inducing suicides in India.
                      What you always see if something becomes very popular, then very bad people also step in. So there were some people trying to make money out of microcredit. So what you saw is that some kind of microfinance institutions who were originally meant to help the poor were actually very commercialized, evil people who asked very high interest rates from poor people. And then some people who were borrowing from those microfinance institutions couldn’t repay. Then other microfinance institutions stepped in and said, “You can borrow from us”. So people started borrowing from different microfinance institutions to repaying loans to other microfinance institutions.

                      On whether or not banks should charge interest on microfinancing products:

                      Lensink:There is a huge discussion about this. Many advocates of microfinance talk about the so-called double bottom line, that microfinance institutions can do two things at the same time: they can reduce poverty and be financially sustainable at the same time. Being financially sustainable means that you should become financially sustainable. You can only become financially sustainable if you also ask some interest rate. So you should cover the costs in one way or another. I have a bit different view here: in my view, the whole idea about double bottom line is a little bit of a myth. So I think it’s either one or the other.

                      How gender training can backfire when it fails to take national context to heart:

                      Lensink: What the theory tells you is that the best way maybe for reducing intimate partner violence is that increase outside options for women so they can have the possibility of work outside, and then they can divorce. However, that only works in societies where it’s allowed to divorce. In those societies like Vietnam, it is kind stigmatized, so you cannot divorce. So whatever the woman does, naturally she will not run away. Now in our case, what we found is that the gender training improved bargaining power for the women. So in a sense, women became more independent within the system: they got more to say about which school the children should go to and this type of thing. That was kind of positive. But they also increased their financial independence, but that then induced kind of a male backlash. So in the end, we had this kind of surprising and negative result that the training seemingly had induced more partner violence.
                      So maybe the best way of reducing the whole thing is changing the norms in a society that’s allowed to divorce, that’s not stigmatized. And so it’s a kind of a warning for organizations doing this type of work: look, it’s good to give women more freedom, but if it’s stigmatized for doing it then, you may get a kind of a backlash and have the opposite result.

                      On how insurance for farmers can provide more financial security, and the bandwagon effect:

                      Lensink: In Kenya and Ethiopia, we are still working to develop new type of insurance products, index insurance products, which may lead to a better uptake. So what we did in Ethiopia was that we gave farmers the possibility to pay the premium after the harvest. And we marketed the product in within social groups to give them a bit more trust in the product. So there was an informal group leader and he had a speech for the farmers telling them that they can trust this product.
                      Traci White: So a local representative that they knew, so that was someone that they trusted more readily than an institution of some sort.
                      Lensink: And by doing this combination of intervention, to increase the uptake of the insurance product to 70 percent from 44 percent, so it was enormous. It was big success. We worked with 12,000 farmers and we did it for a couple of years. So that was very, very positive, but there was one kind of backlash here as well: the problem of this product is if people are allowed to pay later, then maybe they will default. So they may decide if there’s no bad weather, why should we try pay the premium? By selling the product in social groups, we tried, like micro group planning in microfinance, we hoped that was kind of peer pressure going on and everybody was repaying and that worked. But in certain groups, nobody repaid. So it’s kind of what we call in microfinance the bandwagon effect. So there is peer monitoring in microfinance, and very much what they call joint liabilities, and the standard idea of group lending is you’re only allowed to borrow when you borrow with a group and the group is liable for repayment. And we did this with the insurance products as well. So then, if you don’t repay somebody else needs to repay, in kind of peer pressure and therefore defaults will be low. But the opposite effect may happen as well, and what we found out here – it happened in some cases – is that if you don’t repay, then I know I have to pay for you. But the best solution for me may be also not to repay. Now you’ve got a bandwagon effect and no one is repaying. We found that in some areas that this happened, so we’re now setting up trying to do a new type of intervention. We don’t know yet how to control for this problem.

                      ShareTweetShare
                      Previous Post

                      Going green: research into making Groningen farms sustainable

                      Next Post

                      Worldwide interest for major competition to increase sustainability in the chemicals/energy sector of Noord-Groningen

                      Econ 050

                      Econ 050

                      Related Posts

                      econ_050_horizontal

                      Econ 050: public health activism

                      December 6, 2019
                      “We do not have all the know-how ourselves, but we can connect the know-how”: an interview with Johannes Boonstra of Wetsus

                      “We do not have all the know-how ourselves, but we can connect the know-how”: an interview with Johannes Boonstra of Wetsus

                      December 3, 2019
                      German student and Alzheimers patient find friendship on a bicycle

                      German student and Alzheimers patient find friendship on a bicycle

                      November 26, 2019
                      Drents entrepreneur of the year to be announced this week

                      Drents entrepreneur of the year to be announced this week

                      November 25, 2019
                      Worldwide interest for major competition to increase sustainability in the chemicals/energy sector of Noord-Groningen

                      Worldwide interest for major competition to increase sustainability in the chemicals/energy sector of Noord-Groningen

                      November 22, 2019
                      Colleges in Northern Netherlands score well in Keuzegids 2020 rankings

                      Colleges in Northern Netherlands score well in Keuzegids 2020 rankings

                      November 20, 2019
                      Next Post
                      Worldwide interest for major competition to increase sustainability in the chemicals/energy sector of Noord-Groningen

                      Worldwide interest for major competition to increase sustainability in the chemicals/energy sector of Noord-Groningen

                      NS coming through with faster connection between Leeuwarden, Groningen and the Randstad

                      NS coming through with faster connection between Leeuwarden, Groningen and the Randstad

                      Leave a Reply Cancel reply

                      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

                      ECON 050

                      Most popular this week

                      • Barack Obama puts name to copy of Forum Groningen in Chicago

                        Barack Obama puts name to copy of Forum Groningen in Chicago

                        0 shares
                        Share 0 Tweet 0
                      • Cyber criminals steal 1 million euros from Northern Dutch man

                        0 shares
                        Share 0 Tweet 0
                      • Leeuwarden: a rather unexpected place

                        0 shares
                        Share 0 Tweet 0
                      • Farmers plan new protest action: will the shops be empty for Christmas?

                        0 shares
                        Share 0 Tweet 0
                      • Not entirely public-friendly protest from farmers next wednesday

                        0 shares
                        Share 0 Tweet 0
                      The Northern Times

                      The Northern Times

                      NorthernTimes.nl is an English-language news site for internationals and anyone interested in news and activities in the three northern Dutch provinces of Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe. The website provides daily coverage and summaries of local news in the north, as well as human interest stories, backgrounds and a regional events calendar. The Northern Times is an initiative of the International Welcome Center North in cooperation with Persbureau Tammeling BV, which owns and operates the website.

                      Powered by:

                      Akkoord van Groningen, Gemeente Groningen, Koninklijke Metaalunie & FME, University of Groningen, Hanzehogeschool Groningen, Samenwerking Noord, Campus Groningen, and DUO/NEC NL (Nationaal Europass Centrum Nederland). 

                      Privacy statement and disclaimer 

                      NorthernTimes.nl is an English-language news site for internationals and anyone interested in news and activities in the three northern Dutch provinces of Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe. The website provides daily coverage and summaries of local news in the north, as well as human interest stories, backgrounds and a regional events calendar. The Northern Times is an initiative of the International Welcome Center North in cooperation with Persbureau Tammeling BV, which owns and operates the website.

                      Newsletter

                      Once or twice a week, we send out a digital newsletter to our subscribers. We will not and cannot share email addresses or any other personal data provided by our subscribers with any third parties, nor will we use this information for any purposes other than providing the newsletter. 

                      Questions or comments?

                      If you have any questions concerning your privacy or comments about ways that you think we could further protect and inform you about your privacy, please let us know by contacting us at info@tammeling.nl

                      Disclaimer

                      The Northern Times reserves the right to change its privacy policy, but will inform our subscribers and readers in advance prior to implementing any such changes. These changes will be published in a timely manner on The Northern Times’ website.

                      Tags

                      Arriva (40) Art (28) Assen (106) bus (24) business (25) capital of culture (31) Climate Change (26) cycling (25) Delfzijl (29) Drachten (29) Drenthe (428) earthquakes (38) Eelde (31) Emmen (100) festival (31) fire (27) Friesland (472) Groningen (964) Groningen Airport Eelde (23) Groninger Museum (24) Hanze University of Applied Sciences (25) Hoogeveen (33) housing (62) international (35) international students (30) jobs (32) Leeuwarden (262) LF2018 (36) Make it in the North (23) MSC Zoe (22) NAM (26) natural gas (49) Netherlands (31) NS (32) police (37) protest (28) RUG (41) Schiermonnikoog (26) Sneek (22) students (43) Terschelling (23) train (49) UMCG (37) University of Groningen (103) Wadden Sea (30)
                      • News
                      • Lifestyle
                      • Culture
                      • People
                      • Opportunities
                      • Agenda

                      © Copyrights The Northern Times 2018

                      No Result
                      View All Result
                      • Culture
                        • Dutch history
                        • Typical Dutch
                      • Lifestyle
                        • Food & Drinks
                        • Nightlife
                        • Shopping
                        • What’s happening
                      • News
                        • Economics
                        • Politics
                        • Sports
                        • Tech
                      • People
                        • Expats
                        • International students
                      • Opportunities
                        • business
                        • Education
                      • Subscribe To Our Newsletter

                        Join our mailing list to receive the latest news from Groningen, Drenthe, and Friesland.

                        You have Successfully Subscribed!

                      Subscribe To Our Newsletter

                      Subscribe To Our Newsletter

                      Join our mailing list to receive the latest news from the Top Dutch region!

                      You have Successfully Subscribed!

                      X