Capital - assets available for use in the production of further assets http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&biw=1209&bih=617&q=define%3A+capital&aq=f&aq

Capital - assets available for use in the production of further assets http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&biw=1209&bih=617&q=define%3A+capital&aq=f&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai= http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&biw=120... Baseline level of trust = 100% risk 100% risk = 0% return 0% return = Charity That's not to say charity doesn't have a place in the world. But the conversation about microfinance is about empowering individuals, and you don't empower individuals by writing them a blank check. You empower them by helping them overcome difficulties (i.e. paying back loans that may or may not be favorable to them). To touch a little more on the suicides, these loans are often structured such that 3 or 4 people are cosigned. So if I can't pay, the other cosigners have to pay. Social pressures can make people do extreme things. When the article says stuff like Shobha, head of several groups of women borrowers, was being pressured to pay interest on her 12,000 rupee ($265) loan. Lenders also were demanding that she cover for the other women, even though the state had restricted microfinance activities two weeks earlier, Bloomberg Markets magazine reports in its February issue. The don't point out that that's the kind of agreement she signed up for. There's no collateral, so the social pressure is intended to serve as the incentive to repay. Of course this has consequences. To draw a parallel, think about social pressures in an enclosed environment where people are counting on you, like the office or high school.