Portfolios of the Poor: How the World's Poor Live on $2 a Day Daryl Collins, Jonathan Morduch, and Stuart Rutherford is an English-language study book that provides insight into the financial strategies of poor people worldwide. The book is intended for those interested in development economics and microfinance.
This research sheds light on how the poor manage their everyday finances through detailed, year-long interviews with households in Bangladesh, India, and South Africa. It reveals how these households manage their limited resources using saving methods, informal networks, and microfinance. It shows that the poor are not merely surviving, but actively seeking financial solutions.
Portfolios of the Poor offers valuable knowledge about economic systems and helps in understanding how households manage their money for barely two dollars a day. The book is indispensable for professionals in development studies, microfinance, and economic development.