For many of the poor in developing nations, securing loans is often an unfeasible task. Reforms to credit access in Mali, however, are providing much-needed relief to smallholder farmers endeavoring to improve conditions for themselves and their families. The Importance of Microfinance in Development The practice of providing access to financial resources and small loans […]
When U.S. citizens are asked to name the percentage of the federal budget they believe is spent on foreign aid and relief, the consensus sits at 31 percent. Only three percent of Americans correctly estimated the federal spending at less than one percent of the total federal budget. Even though its a fraction of the […]
Sustainable agriculture in Turkmenistan has been difficult to implement due to a lack of resources and an effective way of maintaining agricultural plans. Improvements to the country’s agricultural systems are currently being discussed by activists and governments across the globe. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) cites lack of management and effective irrigation […]
Timor-Leste is a young nation facing many difficulties, but it is also a nation striving to advance itself daily. One of the areas in which the nation is making strides is in the development of its infrastructure. On August 30, 1999, the people of current day Timor-Leste voted on whether they wanted to remain part […]
Kiribati is a Pacific coral atoll nation located close to Australia. An atoll is a ring-like island formed by the rim or border of the mouth of a former volcano which is now submerged in water. Atolls are an ideal habitat for colorful coral reefs, but on the other hand, only a small set of crops […]
El Salvador made the transition to democracy in 1992 following the end of the civil war. Despite making leaps in social and economic development and achieving free and fair elections, gang-related crime and violence and a lagging economy have significantly impeded El Salvador’s progress. The U.S. benefits from foreign aid to El Salvador through the […]
According to Business Insider, the top ten of the world’s poorest countries are the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Liberia, Niger, Malawi, Mozambique, Guinea, Eritrea and Madagascar. Poverty is directly correlated to a nation’s institutional quality, corruption levels, geography and economic prospects. These sub-Saharan African countries suffer from several factors that […]
SOS Children’s Villages International is providing humanitarian aid to Croatia specifically targeted at children in the context of a struggling economy, high poverty rates and high unemployment levels. In the wake of the war with the former Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia that lasted from 1991 to 1995, Croatia has struggled to recover from the decimation of […]
As is the case in many developing economies, credit access in Azerbaijan is not as easy to come by as it should ideally be. That being said, significant efforts are being made to improve the ease of credit access and ensure that the country’s financial system has the capacity to cope with the increase in […]
Credit in Georgia is comparatively easy to access compared to similar economies in the region. That being said, any deficit in this area is still a major obstacle to economic development. However, steps are being taken to identify the factors standing in the way of credit access in Georgia and determine how to eliminate them […]
