The last thirty years or so has seen the commercial or ‘new wave' microfinance model rise to dominate the local financial systems in both developing and transition countries alike. Initially inspired by the Grameen Bank model that emerged in Bangladesh in the 1970s, but later refined to more...

This paper is an evaluation of the Local Economic Development Agency (LEDA) model and network operating in Latin America with UNDP support. Originating in the 1980s as one of the supposedly transforming institutions linked to the neoliberal revolution, the commercialised LEDA model was one of...

This paper examines the effectiveness of the Local Economic Development Agency (LEDA) model of institutional support for local economic development (LED), a model of LED that became very popular in the 1990's as the neoliberal political project began its global ascendancy. The paper draws upon...

This paper looks at the radical policies introduced in Medellin, in Colombia, to promote local development and social inclusion. While not always successful, the paper finds that they hold out a useful foundation for further reforms and measures to build local economic development success and...

This paper looks at the financing of local economic development and what history says are the best models. It compares the success of more interventionist local financial models to more recent but unsuccessful neoliberal-inspired local financial models, such as microfinance