Covid-19 and the Unequalizing Infrastructures of Financial Inclusion in Tamil Nadu

Datos Bibliográficos

ID3884449
AutoresIsabelle Guérin (0000-0002-4476-0074), Vincent Guermond (0000-0002-0137-6451), Nithya Joseph, Nithya Natarajan, Govindan Venkatasubramanian (0000-0002-0949-898X)
Año2021
Volumen52
Número4
Páginas927-951
Fecha de publicación2021-07-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaDevelopment and Change (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0012-155X • E-ISSN: 1467-7660
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/dech.12674
PMID34548676
OpenAlexW3194356438
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas6
Referencias citadas20

This article discusses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on microfinance borrowers in Tamil Nadu, India. Through an examination of the social and financial infrastructures underpinning inclusive finance, the article demonstrates how the COVID-19 pandemic exposes the limits and exclusionary tendencies of the for-profit financial inclusion industry. The unequalizing breakdown of financial inclusion infrastructures during the pandemic prioritizes future revenue extraction over current livelihood needs, throwing hard-hit borrowers back on hierarchical informal financial and social infrastructures to cope with COVID-19-induced risk. Tracing the experiences of poor microfinance borrowers in Tamil Nadu, this article examines how COVID-19 is reshaping inclusive financial infrastructures in ways that reveal the dynamics of exclusion at the heart of financial inclusion

Pandemic · Tamil · Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism · Microfinance and Financial Inclusion · Urban and Rural Development Challenges