Paromita Sanyal is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Cornell University, New York. Her research interests include development, gender, economic sociology, and participatory forms of governance like deliberative democracy (gram sabha in India). She has been previously affiliated with Harvard University, Massachusetts and the Development Research Group at the World Bank.

• 1. The global trajectory of microcredit; 2. Agency; 3. Converting loans into leverage; 4. The power of participation; 5. Microcredit and collective action; 6. Culture and microcredit: why socio-religious dimensions matter; 7. Loans and well-being; 8. Interpreting microcredit: beyond the salvation/exploitation alternatives; 9. Epilogue: the future of microcredit.

'Microcredit has been a major interest of development economists for years, given their effectiveness as an engine of upward mobility among the poor. Paromita Sanyal's remarkable book gives us a different lens on their importance. She reveals the critical role of microcredit in enabling women to build independent lives even in the face of traditional suppression. This engaging study should be read by students, scholars and policy makers who want to know how this strategy can make a profound difference for women in developing countries.' Katherine Newman, Provost, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and author of Taxing the Poor: Doing Damage to the Truly Disadvantaged

Paromita Sanyal is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Cornell University, New York. Her research interests include development, gender, economic sociology, and participatory forms of governance like deliberative democracy (gram sabha in India). She has been previously affiliated with Harvard University, Massachusetts and the Development Research Group at the World Bank.

• 1. The global trajectory of microcredit; 2. Agency; 3. Converting loans into leverage; 4. The power of participation; 5. Microcredit and collective action; 6. Culture and microcredit: why socio-religious dimensions matter; 7. Loans and well-being; 8. Interpreting microcredit: beyond the salvation/exploitation alternatives; 9. Epilogue: the future of microcredit.

'Microcredit has been a major interest of development economists for years, given their effectiveness as an engine of upward mobility among the poor. Paromita Sanyal's remarkable book gives us a different lens on their importance. She reveals the critical role of microcredit in enabling women to build independent lives even in the face of traditional suppression. This engaging study should be read by students, scholars and policy makers who want to know how this strategy can make a profound difference for women in developing countries.' Katherine Newman, Provost, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and author of Taxing the Poor: Doing Damage to the Truly Disadvantaged

Paromita Sanyal is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Cornell University, New York. Her research interests include development, gender, economic sociology, and participatory forms of governance like deliberative democracy (gram sabha in India). She has been previously affiliated with Harvard University, Massachusetts and the Development Research Group at the World Bank.

• 1. The global trajectory of microcredit; 2. Agency; 3. Converting loans into leverage; 4. The power of participation; 5. Microcredit and collective action; 6. Culture and microcredit: why socio-religious dimensions matter; 7. Loans and well-being; 8. Interpreting microcredit: beyond the salvation/exploitation alternatives; 9. Epilogue: the future of microcredit.

'Microcredit has been a major interest of development economists for years, given their effectiveness as an engine of upward mobility among the poor. Paromita Sanyal's remarkable book gives us a different lens on their importance. She reveals the critical role of microcredit in enabling women to build independent lives even in the face of traditional suppression. This engaging study should be read by students, scholars and policy makers who want to know how this strategy can make a profound difference for women in developing countries.' Katherine Newman, Provost, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and author of Taxing the Poor: Doing Damage to the Truly Disadvantaged