Urban Finance
The past few decades have seen strides in research and development regarding the financial realities of poor urban locales. With the advent of Grameen Bank in the 1980s, microfinance has been at the front of mainstream development consciousness. But urban finance encompasses more than the local economies of urban dwellers. It includes the way municipal governments finance infrastructure and development projects, how to better involve citizens in municipal budgeting, and how migration affects the financial flow of developing cities.
Our research focuses on the many-sided reality of urban finance. We’ve conducted projects on migratory remittances, traditional microfinance and microlending, and participatory budgeting at the local level. These projects have taken us to South and Central America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Eastern Europe.