Economic Development : Center for Social Innovation (CSI)

Articles : All | News Articles | Stanford Social Innovation Review Articles | Blog Posts

Topic :

Corporate Social Responsibility, Economic Development

Crowdsourcing Microfinance

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Summer 2011

The Grameen Foundation’s Bankers Without Borders initiative applies skills-based volunteering to poverty alleviation.

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Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

Topic :

Corporate Social Responsibility, Economic Development, Nonprofit Management, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

Nonprofit Initiative Mentors Women Entrepreneurs In Emerging Markets

Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women program is helping women in 22 countries in the developing world start and grow businesses, Dina Habib Powell, who oversees the effort told a business school audience.

Resource: News Article

Topic :

Economic Development, Government

Democracy Is Not Assured by Revolutions in the Arab World, Says Larry Diamond

Arab nations rocked by popular uprisings in recent months face complex, precarious, and often divergent paths toward establishing democracy, says Stanford democracy expert Larry Diamond.

Resource: News Article

Topic :

Economic Development, Healthcare

Novartis Executive Describes the Battle Against Malaria in Africa

A program using cell phones to get anti-malaria drugs to the rural spots that need them most is one program that has helped lower deaths from malaria in Africa Silvio Gabriel, an executive with Novartis Pharma, told a Stanford Graduate School of Business audience.

Resource: News Article

Topic :

Economic Development

Building Bridges

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Spring 2011

Ending poverty is beyond the reach of any single sector or actor

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Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

Topic :

Economic Development

Africa, the Next Frontier for Entrepreneurs: Business Opportunities in the Neglected Continent

By 2040 Africa will have a larger workforce than China or India, speakers told a Stanford Africa Forum 2011 conference, exploring opportunities for business development in the 50-plus nations of that continent whose business opportunities are often overlooked.

Resource: News Article

Topic :

Global Issues, Economic Development, Environment

Input sought from food researchers hungry for campus collaborations

Faculty and students from all parts of the Stanford University campus, including Professor Sarah Soule from the business school, will gather Nov. 3 for the University's first Food Summit to discuss ways to develop broad-based answers to the world's food problems.

Resource: News Article

Topic :

Economic Development, Government, Nonprofit Management

Helping Africans to jump-start their industries

Bruce McNamer, MBA '96, examines how a nonprofit's work in Mozambique and in other developing countries is showing businesses how to break the cycle of poverty.

Resource: News Article

Topic :

Economic Development

How Is the Financial Crisis Changing Global Business?

Students are drawing lessons from this pivotal time in world economic history: They tap the expertise of star academics and practitioners in a series of interviews and lectures that offer laser-like analysis of what went wrong, how business will be forever changed, and how such shocks may be prevented in future.

Resource: News Article

Topic :

Economic Development, Government

Many Developing Nations Weathered Economic Crisis Better Than Richer Neighbors

The economic resilience of developing nations during the world economic crisis has been encouraging, Stanford Graduate School of Business economist Michael Spence told a student audience, but ongoing global growth needs an integrated financial strategy. Spence heads the Commission on Growth and Development.

Resource: News Article

Topic :

Economic Development, Government, Social Entrepreneurship

15 Minutes with Martin Eakes

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Summer 2008

Managing Editor Eric Nee spoke with Self-Help’s founder and CEO, Martin Eakes, about the subprime loan crisis and its impact on the poor.

Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

Topic :

Economic Development, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing, Social Entrepreneurship

Reimagining Microfinance

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Summer 2008

Critics of microfinance institutions (MFIs) ask them to choose between helping the poor and making money for investors, but this is a false choice. MFIs can have their impact and profit, too, says the author, the CEO of the Grameen Foundation. He sketches a new vision of microfinance as a platform, not a product; one that relies on high volumes, not high margins, and that uses limits on private benefit, holistic performance standards, and third-party certification to help MFIs meet both their bottom lines. —By Alex Counts

Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

Topic :

Economic Development, Government, Social Entrepreneurship

Less Is More

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Summer 2008

Financial aid discourages innovative solutions to poverty. —By Liisa Välikangas & Michael Gibbert

-Subscription Required

Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

Topic :

Economic Development, Social Entrepreneurship

Review: Out of Poverty

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Summer 2008

Polak offers entrepreneurial solutions to poverty in Asia and Africa. Review by Paul S. Hudnut

-Subscription Required

Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

Topic :

Economic Development, Government

The Price of Going Left

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Summer 2008

In new democracies, right-leaning elections attract foreign investors.

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Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

Topic :

Economic Development, Nonprofit Management

Nonprofit Accounting Rules Not the Solution to For-Profit Accountability

Nonprofit accounting rules should not be forced on anyone.

Resource: Blog Post

Topic :

Arts, Culture, and Religion, Economic Development

Reviewing the Past, Predicting the Future

The author takes a crystal ball to the 2009 economic landscape.

Resource: Blog Post

Topic :

Economic Development, Social Entrepreneurship

Kiva Introduces Lending Team Feature

Kiva, the world’s first person-to-person microlending Web site, has facilitated nearly $40 million in loans to entrepreneurs worldwide.

Resource: Blog Post

Topic :

Economic Development

Chinese Activity in Africa, Part 2: The Path of Least Resistance

Africa is finding Chinese investment less demanding than that of the West.

Resource: Blog Post

Topic :

Economic Development

Chinese Activity in Africa, Part 2: The Path of Least Resistance

To what degree will Chinese investments in Africa add long-term value?

Resource: Blog Post

Video/Audio : All | Audio | Video

Topic:

Economic Development, Human Rights

Empowering Women in Latin America

One of the best methods proven to alleviate poverty is microlending to women, who have a great track record for using loans wisely to create small business enterprises that sustain their entire families. Host of the Center for Social Innovation at Stanford, Lynne Patterson talks about the creation of Pro Mujer, an international microfinance and women's development network in Latin America. She details the mission, objectives, methods, and progress, illuminating the organization's empowering impact on the lives of its many clients.

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Resource: Audio

Topic:

Economic Development, Social Entrepreneurship

Bringing Electricity to the Marginalized

In parts of Nicaragua, nearly 80 percent of the population goes without electricity, leaving them cut off from critical opportunities for betterment and development. In this audio interview, Kriss Deiglmeier, the Center for Social Innovation executive director, converses with Mathias Craig who created blueEnergy to bring electricity to marginalized communities in this region of the world.

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Resource: Audio

Topic:

Economic Development, Healthcare

Bringing Vision to the Masses

In the United States, at least 60% of the population wears corrective lenses. Worldwide, in contrast, only 5% of the population does. Such statistics have led Josh Silver, Oxford atomic physicist, to conclude that more than half the world needs vision correction but doesn't have access to it. In this audio lecture, host of the Center for Social Innovation at Stanford, Silver shares how he decided to "do something useful for the world" by creating specialized, liquid-filled corrective lenses that are now worn by some 26,000 people in developing countries.

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Resource: Audio

Topic:

Economic Development, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing, Social Entrepreneurship

Using Markets to Reduce Poverty

How can philanthropy and markets be used to promote international development? In this audio lecture, Yasmina Zaidman describes how the Acumen model supports microenterprises that are helping to alleviate poverty. She also shares the opportunities and challenges the organization faces.

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Resource: Audio

Topic:

Economic Development, Healthcare

Bringing Mobility to the Disabled

In remote rural areas in India, 18 million people suffer isolation and poverty due to their inability to work. In this audio interview, Jennifer Roberts, associate editor of the Stanford Social Innovation Review, converses with D.R. Mehta, whose NGO gives mobility to 20,000 people a year through the fitting of a high-tech prosthetic limb known as the Jaipur Foot. Mehta discusses the genesis of his organization, which makes the prosthesis freely available to the poor.

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Resource: Audio

Topic:

Economic Development

Bill Gates Says Foreign Aid is Threatened, but Big Ideas Can Turn the Tide

Just off a plane from Africa, Bill Gates visits Stanford to talk about innovation, but not the software kind. Scientists and engineers, he said, need to focus on products that help improve the lives of the world's poor even though the market directs people to help the wealthiest.

Resource: Video

Topic:

Economic Development, Social Entrepreneurship

Innovative Design Saves Tiny Lives

Jane Chen, MBA '08, has a vision of a place “babies no longer die from being cold, where people no longer die from preventable causes. And where every person has the ability to choose [his or her] own fate.”

Resource: Video

Topic:

Economic Development

Optimism for Developing Countries

"There is, perhaps for the first time in history, a reasonable chance of transforming the quality of life and the creative opportunities for the vast majority of humanity."

Resource: Video

Topic:

Economic Development, Social Entrepreneurship

Enhancing Business Education for Rural Entrepreneurs

In 2006, Stanford's Graduate School of Business students Scott Raymond and Katherine Boas took a service learning trip to Thailand and Cambodia. The result? A program that helps to alleviate poverty in Thailand that is now being duplicated at microlending organizations around the world.

Resource: Video

Topic:

Economic Development, Government

Fox Sees Bright Future for Mexico

Americans are mostly unaware of the enormous progress Mexico has enjoyed since a devastating collapse in the peso in 1994. Former Mexican President Vincente Fox highlights the opportunities, and also addresses the challenges, resulting from the collapse.

Resource: Video

Topic:

Economic Development, Human Rights, Nonprofit Management

Fostering Entrepreneurship in New Orleans

The Idea Village was launched in New Orleans by "five guys who wanted to change the world." The more modest goal of these entrepreneurs was to revitalize the city economically--a mission that became especially important when Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. In this audio lecture, sponsored by the Stanford Center for Social Innovation, Tim Williamson shares how his nonprofit has been helping rebuild the devastated city economically, and the progress inspired through a powerful network of talented individuals.

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Resource: Audio

Topic:

Corporate Social Responsibility, Economic Development

TransFair's Work in Fair Trade

Coffee price fluctuations over past decades have created extreme financial crises and long-term poverty for thousands of small-scale Latin American farmers. In this Stanford Center for Social Innovation sponsored audio lecture, David Funkhouser of TransFair USA, details how the Fair Trade movement arose as a market-based approach to poverty alleviation and international development. He discusses Fair Trade's function to offer suppliers fair, above-market prices, and TransFair's role in supporting that movement.

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Resource: Audio

Topic:

Economic Development, Healthcare, Human Rights

Scaling Up Health Care in Rwanda

AIDS, malaria, and maternal mortality are some of the chronic public health issues that plague Africa. Invited to Stanford, Paul Farmer talks about how his Boston-based organization, Partners In Health, is spending donor dollars to bring the lessons garnered from its work in Haiti to scale up health care services in war-torn Rwanda. As dicussed in this audio lecture, his organization seeks to fill the gap that exists between medical R&D and health care delivery so preventions and cures can be brought to more of the people who need them.

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Resource: Audio

Topic:

Economic Development, Nonprofit Management, Social Entrepreneurship

Taking Entrepreneurism International

Ten years ago, "entrepreneur" didn't exist in the lexicon of many parts of the world. Now, thanks to the work of a nonprofit called Endeavor, entrepreneurs are emerging in countries where such activity was once impossible. Invited to speak at the Center for Social Innovation at Stanford, Linda Rottenberg shares in this audio lecture how her organization has gone from a "crazy" idea of two business school graduates to an important engine for empowering entrepreneurs in Latin America and beyond.

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Resource: Audio

Topic:

Economic Development, Human Rights

Empowering Women in Latin America

One of the best methods proven to alleviate poverty is microlending to women, who have a great track record for using loans wisely to create small business enterprises that sustain their entire families. Host of the Center for Social Innovation at Stanford, Lynne Patterson talks about the creation of Pro Mujer, an international microfinance and women's development network in Latin America. She details the mission, objectives, methods, and progress, illuminating the organization's empowering impact on the lives of its many clients.

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Resource: Audio

Case Studies : All | Academic Cases

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Topics:

Health Care, Economic Development

Can Oil Filters Improve Health Care?

For millions of people across Africa, motorcycles can be a key to effective health care. A well-maintained fleet of vehicles and motorcycles to connect patients, medical expertise, and medicine is sometimes the most vital link in the health delivery supply chain. A new case written for the Stanford Global Supply Chain Management Forum describes one successful program.

Resource: Academic Case

Topics:

Economic Development

Social Entrepreneurship: Kiva

Inspired by Professor Muhammad Yunus, Jessica and Matt Flannery experimented with micro-lending connecting Ugandan entrepreneurs to friends and family through a pilot internet trial. Kiva, the first person-to- person microlending organization was born.

Resource: Academic Case

Topics:

Economic Development, Nonprofit Management, Social Entrepreneurship

As Green As It Gets

As Green as It Gets was a nonprofit economic development organization supporting small, independent producers in disadvantaged Guatemalan communities. The founder pondered how to grow and sustain the organization.

Resource: Academic Case

Topics:

Economic Development, Nonprofit Management

Endeavor

Endeavor selects promising entrepreneurs and helps them develop and grow their businesses through mentorship and guidance. In 2007, founder and CEO Linda Rottenberg looked at the organization's expansion strategy.

Resource: Academic Case

Topics:

Economic Development

Kiva

By 2007, Kiva had gone through a rapid growth phase. The case recounts the debut of the first online person-to-person microfinance organization and looks at the founders' plan for future development.

Resource: Academic Case

Topics:

Economic Development

Social Entrepreneurship: Banco Compartamos

Banco Compartamos has been providing microloans to the poor in rural areas of Chiapas and Oaxaca, Mexico, since 1990. It became one of Mexico’s most successful banks. Critics, however, claim that Compartamos departed from the true spirit of microfinance.

Resource: Academic Case

Topics:

Economic Development, Social Entrepreneurship

Equity Bank, a microfinance service

Equity Bank, a microfinance services provider, experienced a remarkable turnaround in the early 1990s. What strategy did the CEO pursue to accomplish such a feat?

Resource: Academic Case

Topics:

Corporate Social Responsibility, Economic Development, Healthcare

Gilead Sciences (A): The Gilead Access Program for HIV Drugs

Gilead Sciences designs a strategy for delivering an AIDS drug to developing nations in Africa. This first part of the case describes the organization's initial considerations.

Resource: Academic Case

Topics:

Corporate Social Responsibility, Economic Development, Healthcare

Gilead Sciences (B): Implementing the Gilead Access Program for HIV Drugs

Gilead Sciences designs a strategy for delivering an AIDS drug to developing nations in Africa. This second part of the case explores the company’s experience with a distribution program.

Resource: Academic Case

Topics:

Economic Development, Healthcare, Nonprofit Management

Riders for Health: Health Care Distribution Solutions in Sub-Saharan Africa

Riders for Health is a U.K.-based nonprofit dedicated to the improvement of transportation systems for health workers in Africa. In 2007, after 11 years in existence, the organization was at a critical point and had to decide what strategies were necessary to expand.

Resource: Academic Case

Topic :

Economic Development, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing, Social Entrepreneurship

Robin Hood

In 2005, Robin Hood was the largest private poverty-fighting organization in New York City, and its venture philanthropy model had inspired various foundations nationwide. The management team hoped to have an even greater impact by improving the application of best practices and metrics.

Resource: Academic Case

Topic :

Economic Development, Nonprofit Management, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

The Amy Biehl Foundation Trust

In February 1999, the Amy Biehl Foundation Trust was preparing to expand its operations outside Cape Town, South Africa. However, a strike at one of their revenue-generating enterprises, and financial irregularities at one of their newest programs, threatened to thwart the Foundation's plans.

Resource: Academic Case

Research Papers : All

Topics:

Economic Development

Intermediate Goods and Weak Links in the Theory of Economic Development

What explains the enormous differences in incomes across countries? This paper returns to two old ideas: linkages and complementarity. These forces considerably amplify distortions to the allocation of resources, bringing us closer to understanding large income differences across countries.

Resource: Research Paper

Topics:

Economic Development, Government

Understand Young Companies in Your Own Backyard, Report Urges Global Leaders

Policy makers need to understand how early-stage companies in their own area work, rather than try to create another Silicon Valley, says Stanford management professor George Foster. He is coauthor of a new report published by the World Economic Forum.

Resource: Research Paper

Topics:

Economic Development

Why Do Firms in Developing Countries Have Low Productivity?

In summary, we find evidence that firms in developing countries are often badly managed, which substantially reduces their productivity.

Resource: Research Paper

Topics:

Economic Development, Government

Firms in Corrupt Countries Pay a Price in Market Value

Virtue seems to pay according to Professor Charles M.C. Lee whose research shows that publicly-held firms in countries perceived as less corrupt trade at bigger market premiums than those in places deemed more corrupt.

Resource: Research Paper

Topics:

Economic Development

Why Bank Equity Is Not Expensive

Since the 2008 market crash, banking interests and economists have clashed over how much of their operations banks should fund with equity as opposed to debt. Bankers and others often say that, "equity is expensive." A recent paper, coauthored by three faculty of the Stanford Graduate School of Business, argues: "Quite simply, bank equity is not expensive from a social perspective, and high leverage is not required in order for banks to perform all their socially valuable functions."

Resource: Research Paper

Courses : All

Topic :

Economic Development

Strategic Thinking in Action - In Business and Beyond: STRAMGT 373

This seminar helps participants develop strategically informed action plans that are imaginative, inspiring, and workable in highly dynamic environments. Through informed debate and the writing and presentation of position papers, participants evaluate and hone their views on the seminar's critical themes.

Resource: MBA Course

Topic :

Economic Development, Social Entrepreneurship

Design for Extreme Affordability: OIT 333/4

Students apply engineering and business skills to design product prototypes, distribution systems, and business plans for entrepreneurial ventures in developing countries. The aim is to address challenges faced by the world's poor.

Resource: MBA Course

Topic :

Economic Development, Government

The International Economy: Policies and Theory: MGTECON 334

This course gives students an understanding of international trade economics, and analyzes the political processes by which international trade policy is determined. It combines lecture and mini-case studies.

Resource: MBA Course

Topic :

Economic Development

Growth and Stabilization in the Global Economy: MGTECON 300

This course gives students the background they need to understand the broad movements in the global economy. Key topics include long-run economic growth, technological change, wage inequality, international trade, interest rates, inflation, exchange rates, and monetary policy.

Resource: MBA Course

Innovators : All

Topic :

Economic Development, Social Entrepreneurship

Farm to Cup Merger Emphasizes Partnership & Economic Empowerment

[photo - Farm to Cup - Root Capital Lending]

A grassroots student effort led by Caroline Mullen, MBA ’12, Catha Mullen, MBA ’13, and Monica Lewis, MBA ’12, now has even more impact through a merger with Pachamama Coffee Cooperative.

Resource: Alumni

Topic :

Economic Development, Healthcare

Cross-Sector Effort Helps People See Better

Vision care is something that is practically taken for granted in the United States, but that’s not the case throughout much of the world. Some 300 million around the globe suffer from correctable vision loss, leading, as Ashanthi Mathai, MBA '04, says, “to people accepting their vision impairment and adjusting their lives around it.” The result? A lower quality of life, restricted job options, and even further economic distress.

Resource: Alumni

Topic :

Economic Development, Environment

How Growth Can Be Green

A Stanford GSB student looks at the value of renewable energy in the developing world.

Resource: Student

Topic :

Economic Development, Leadership, Social Entrepreneurship

Creating Peace, One Entrepreneur at a Time

It was the suicide of a young man that turned Vivek Garg toward using business as a means of fostering peace and reconciliation.

Resource: Student

Topic :

Economic Development

Mark Conroe (MBA '85)

Mark Conroe is leveraging his real estate experience and decades of volunteer work to help build the San Francisco House of Hope, a supportive housing project for the homeless.

Resource: Alumni

Topic :

Economic Development

Jared Cohen: Harnessing Online Technology For Revolution And Democracy

Online technology challenges citizens to build better societies, not just revolt against bad ones, Google Ideas leader Jared Cohen says.

Resource: News Article

Topic :

Global Issues, Mobile Technology, Social Innovations, Economic Development

Mobile Banking Takes Off in Nigeria

A 2005 Stanford MBA says that mobile technology devices are revolutionizing banking and other services in Africa, similar to the way computers revolutionized industrialized countries.

Resource: News Article

Topic :

Economic Development

Cate Muther (MBA '78)

Women and economic development have long been the focus for Cate Muther. Here she shares thoughts on tackling complex and entrenched problems, the effort and relentlessness it takes, and the sources of inspiration that sustain her.

Resource: Innovators

Topic :

Economic Development, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

Brian Cox (MBA '93)

The poorest regions of the world pose high risks for microfinance. Brian Cox, President of MFX Solutions, discusses how currency risk education can increase the flow of resources to Africa and other high-risk regions.

Resource: Innovators

Topic :

Economic Development, Leadership

The Challenge of Building a Manufacturing Presence in Liberia

Building a fair-trade manufacturing business in Liberia is helping entrepreneur Chid Liberty realize a goal. "You can make money and do good at the same time," he told a Stanford University audience.

Resource: News Article

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