The Evolution of Microenterprise Strategies in the United States

dc.contributor.authorAkpinar, Brigit Dugganen
dc.contributor.committeechairKoebel, C. Theodoreen
dc.contributor.committeememberStephenson, Max O. Jr.en
dc.contributor.departmentPublic and International Affairsen
dc.date.accessioned2014-03-14T20:57:47Zen
dc.date.adate2005-01-17en
dc.date.available2014-03-14T20:57:47Zen
dc.date.issued2004-05-04en
dc.date.rdate2005-01-17en
dc.date.sdate2004-12-10en
dc.description.abstractForty years ago President Lyndon B. Johnson put into motion legislation designed to strike a blow at the causes and consequences of poverty. Although newer strategies aimed at poverty reduction have been developed over the intervening years, it is easy to conclude from observing newspaper headlines that poverty continues to be a pressing problem. Microenterprise is one of the more recent poverty alleviation strategies. As a strategy, microenterprise has emerged only recently in the United States, following the example of the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh. Initially, in suit with the model of the Grameen Bank, microenterprise programs focused on the provision of credit. Over time, however, American microenterprise programs have adapted and evolved, shifting their focus away from credit to training and technical assistance. This paper performs first-order and second-order analyses in an attempt to understand how the microenterprise model has evolved in the United States. The first-order analysis will examine the economic, social and political contexts that constrain credit oriented microenterprise strategies. The second-order analysis will examine these contexts with regard to the process of diffusion of innovations. The first-order analysis will reveal the contexts within the United States that have precluded the widespread adoption of the original strategy, while the second-order analysis will reveal how context constrains or facilitates the process of diffusion.en
dc.description.degreeMaster of Public and International Affairsen
dc.identifier.otheretd-12102004-114403en
dc.identifier.sourceurlhttp://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-12102004-114403/en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/37150en
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.relation.haspartAkpinarBrigit_majorpaper.pdfen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectthe Grameen Banken
dc.subjectdiffusion of innovationsen
dc.subjectmicroenterpriseen
dc.titleThe Evolution of Microenterprise Strategies in the United Statesen
dc.typeMajor paperen
thesis.degree.disciplinePublic and International Affairsen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.levelmastersen
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Public and International Affairsen

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