promoted as a crucial element for socio-economic development both in China and globally. Yet, in existing research on China … recent history of financial service extension to rural areas since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. We … penetration of the so-called 'microfinance industry' in rural China since the mid-2000s. We analyse the major actors and dynamics …

While much research on China has focused on rural to urban migration and transitions of rural households away from …