A foreign domestic worker looks after her elderly client. Photo: Jerry Wong (flickr)

From low-tech light bulbs in the Philippines to microfinance in Nicaragua, our team of young writers covered lots of ground this year.

Here's a rewind on the themes that struck the strongest chords with readers, and the money quote from each piece. As we head into 2012, odds are that these big ideas will keep resonating.

Lack of electricity is a huge barrier to overcoming poverty by
Megan Kelly, Feb. 10:

As long as those hundreds of millions remain in the dark, they will remain poor," and yet bringing electricity to areas that have none lacks global funding and attention. It's not even part of the Millennium Development Goals.

Megan made a sweeping case for attention to energy poverty, a theme we've continued to cover.

Microfinance isn't a magic bullet by Laura Mortara, Jan. 24:

And any situation involving loan and credit is dangerous, especially when people are allowed to borrow irresponsibly. The failure of microfinance in India is largely due in part to MFI's shifting their focus from non-profit to profit-making industries and the corruption that follows thereafter. In addition to this, microfinance in India expanded way too quickly without the experience or infrastructure to support it.

Laura rounded up the previous year's run of bad news about the microfinance sector with a wealth of links to the best coverage.

Used soda bottles light up the world, for free by Brynn Opsahl, Aug. 18:

A used plastic bottle filled with water and a touch of bleach is placed in a hole of a tin roof. For up to five years, 50 watts of light fill up the once-gloomy windowless shack any time the sun is out

Brynn's look at this shockingly simple, effective idea was one of several articles to land in the Christian Science Monitor as part of a partnership we forged with them this year.

Does China's rise mean U.S. decline? by Chris Sharp, Feb. 4:

According to a recent poll by the Pew Research Center, 44 percent of Americans believe China is already the world’s top economic power, compared to 27 percent who think it’s the U.S.

Chris's piece rebutted the popular cliche about China's looming global power, drawing on a post by Foreign Policy's Daniel Drezner to argue that the U.S.-China relationship is about interdependence, not domination.

The female remittance economy: A hidden global network of mothers and money by Eliza Slater, May 11:

Remittances are a significant part of an unofficial global aid network, worth $325 billion last year. That’s three times the size of official foreign development aid spending.

Eliza zoomed into the human scale of some staggering numbers, showing how shipping cash to one's relatives abroad has become, among other things, an important part of modern femininity around the world.

As we mentioned last week, Global Envision is planning some big new initiatives in 2012. Stay tuned—we're looking forward to talking with you about whatever comes next.

Critics say developed countries have broken promises for international aid. Photo: UK Department for International Development (flickr)

With cause for concern about the future of international aid amid the financial crisis faced by rich countries, some developing nations find microfinance playing an increasing role in fueling local growth.

At last week's 4th High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Busan, South Korea, powerful advocates including U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon pressed for continued financial assistance from rich countries and better transparency for aid programs, according to the Washington Post.

But is "continued assistance" enough? Is it the kind of assistance that will lead to actual change? The European head of Oxfam International says the EU failed to take a leadership role at the summit, despite previous promises of aid allocation. Natalia Alonso says “donors are not on track to meet the Millennium Development Goals. In 2000, all rich countries recommitted to spend 0.7 percent of their national income as overseas aid by 2015, but a number of EU governments, such as Italy and Germany, are pretty far from this.” Oxfam found that amid the economic crisis, EU overall aid last year was just 0.43 percent of income, leaving a $65 billion shortfall to 56 poor countries.

It may signal more trouble for traditional international aid, the flow of cash or food aid transfers from richer to poorer countries. The economic crisis and criticisms of the summit leave the trajectory of aid in question.

As the world's wealth shifts to developing nations, some Western leaders want to be sure their aid is paying off. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair wrote in a Washington Post opinion piece that “leaders of emerging economies must ensure that they are able to attract high-quality, sustainable investment.”

World Bank president Robert B. Zoellick also points to this shifting paradigm, stating that “the time has come to envision a world “beyond aid” – a world where the shift is from the paradigm of charity to one of mutual economic benefit.”

One way in which some developing countries are expanding local markets in the era of questionable international aid is through successful microfinance programs. While the long-term solvency of some forms of microfinance are in question, other examples point to successes engineered by both developing countries’ governments and private local banks.

Government funded cash-transfer programs in Mexico and Brazil have been recognized as quite effective at reducing poverty and spurring local market growth, The New York Times reports. These programs provide small infusions of capital to low-income residents for both entrepreneurial and cost-of-living expenses, feeding local economies. Indonesia’s state-owned Bank Rakyat has successfully demonstrated similar results in recent years through a mixed savings-credit model, according to Elisabeth Rhyne in her article, “Five countries where microfinance works,” for China Daily.

Rhyne also highlights Bolivia’s BancoSol, a for-profit bank dedicated to serving the poor that operates within a strict regulatory framework. Competition among similarly modeled microfinance banks has spurred growth with low interest rates in Bolivia. Cambodia and Mongolia are two countries where replication of the Bolivia model has allowed microfinance banks to be “market leaders and innovators,” according to Rhyne.

In Columbia, where 96 percent of businesses are small, demand for microfinance has grown fast in the years of the global financial crisis, according to IPS news. Microfinance in Columbia “grew at a steady rate of 15 percent between 2007 and 2010," states a Visión Económica study. Small companies fuel demand for microfinance because "they generally do not meet the requirements set by commercial banks,” Jorge Varón, the manager of the development credit fund of the Colombians Supporting Colombians (CAC) programme, told IPS. And in a country with so many small businesses fueling market growth, this is a divergent route from typical aid pathways.

The financial crisis hasn't killed international aid. But it has people talking about what's next. Microfinance looks like a big part of the answer.

Erik Mandell is a graduate of Middlebury College in Vermont. He is currently pursuing a master's degree in public administration and global leadership at Portland State. Read his other contributions to Global Envision.

Women at a microfinance meeting in India. Photo: Mckay Savage (flickr)

Microfinance was once the poster child for poverty alleviation. Hailed as an alternative to dangerous loan sharks, it quickly gained momentum and support from governments and NGO's alike. But lately the microfinance glitter has been wearing off, and this once-globally praised idea has come under intense criticism. Some governments have even encouraged their citizens not to pay back their loans, causing lenders to experience a drop in payback. This is most notable in the Southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, where repayment fell from almost 100 percent to a mere 20 percent.

While much of the backlash has focused on India, the same problems could strike any community utilizing microfinance, making India an important lesson to learn from.

Andhra Pradesh, which has a population of almost 80 million people, accounts for one third of India's microfinance loans, reports The Economist. And it is in Andhra Pradesh where microfinance is taking the most heat.

Local governments have pointed the finger at microfinance institutions (MFIs), blaming them for farmer's suicides that occur as a result of severe debt, and castigating them as profiteering loan sharks. The motivations of these politicians, however may be more political than moral. Many of them have utilized the situation to gain votes from the poor, suggests The Economist article. These politicians may also see MFIs as competition to government-installed programs and their own popularity.

Microfinance has also come under fire in Bangladesh where Muhammad Yunus -- the father of microfinance -- was facing allegations of illegal financial transactions. The accusation made by a Norwegian film maker has since been retracted, but the prime minister of Bangladesh still seized the opportunity to damage Yunus' reputation. This is important considering much of her motivation in doing so could have to do with Yunus's proposal to start a political party, despite the fact that this party never materialized according to The New York Times. However, NPR has speculated that despite the attention this case is getting, it will not hinder Bangladesh's use of microfinance loans.

Other Latin American countries such as Nicaragua and Bolivia have also become entangled with the negative side of microfinance. And politicians in these countries have made similar statements to those made by their counterparts in India, encouraging the poor not to pay back their loans in order to gain support from the lower classes.

In truth, microfinance is not a magic wand. Like all financial institutions it is wrought with the ups and downs of the market. And any situation involving loan and credit is dangerous, especially when people are allowed to borrow irresponsibly. The failure of microfinance in India is largely due in part to MFI's shifting their focus from non-profit to profit-making industries and the corruption that follows thereafter. In addition to this, microfinance in India expanded way too quickly without the experience or infrastructure to support it. The boom led to landslide profits for microlenders but disaster for their borrowers.

It's important to remember that microfinance is just a tool that can be used in both positive and negative ways. And as The Economist notes, it is neither miraculous nor detrimental:

In fact, research suggests that it [microfinance] does work — for some people some of the time, as you would expect. It is not a magic bullet, but nor is it intrinsically harmful.

Still there is much hope for microfinance, but it needs strict monitoring and legislation to ensure that corruption and profiteering to not deter it from the original goal of poverty alleviation.

There are two salt deserts in Bolivia: the Salar de Coipasa and the Salar de Uyuni — both of which could be destroyed in the mining of lithium. Photo: Jessie Reeder (flickr)

Does Bolivia have a resource as valuable as Saudi Arabian oil?

The auto industry has historically relied on oil to power cars, but is now turning to new sources of energy. Consequently, raw materials like the lithium in electric car batteries are now in demand.

Ford and GM have invested in the research and production of electric cars, while Toyota has announced plans to build a hybrid electric and start selling an all-electric car by 2012.

So where does Bolivia come into the picture? The introduction of the lithium-ion battery allows cars to go farther on a single charge, making them more convenient and economically viable. But there is a catch: The lithium needed for these batteries is a limited resource, and according to this BBC video report, half of the world’s supply is under Bolivia’s salt flats.

Bolivia, the poorest country in South America, could benefit enormously from mining and processing lithium. But extraction industries have always been controversial. Political tensions over exporting natural gas have ended two presidencies and led to calls for regional autonomy. These tensions have damaged Bolivia's tourism industry, which makes up 6.1 percent of Bolivia's economy.

Mining lithium poses a potential economic Catch-22. Most tourists are drawn by Bolivia’s unspoiled landscape, with the salt flats being a particular point of interest. Mining for lithium could destroy the salt flats, while processing could lead to environmental degradation.

Although electric cars have often been hailed as the future of an environmentally conscious auto industry, lithium has the same Achilles heel as oil: it is a scarce resource. In addition, it is unclear whether the auto industry will even have access to the amount of lithium they would need to launch these ambitious plans. Bolivia’s president Evo Morales is famously cautious about allowing foreigners to mine, and he's considered a fierce environmental protectionist. The decision to mine the salt flats is Bolivia's. Ultimately, the country will have to weigh the benefits of economic development against environmental protection, tourism and foreign influence.

In a daily analysis from last week, Council on Foreign Relations senior fellow Benn Still suggested that the United States is “exporting inflation worldwide.” The latest action by the US Federal Reserve may have staved off inflationary disaster domestically but only to the detriment of other nations who peg their currency to the dollar.

Venezuela struggled with inflation rates over 20 percent in 2007 (Bloomberg). Argentina and Bolivia face similar concerns. Official data puts Russian inflation for 2007 at nearly 12 percent (Forbes). Several Gulf Arab states also find themselves with inflation over or near 10 percent. In China, rates near 7 percent registered in December 2007 represent the highest inflation in over a decade. China’s Prime Minister Wen Jiabao recently announced Beijing would freeze short-term energy prices in an attempt to curb consumer price increases (NYT).

Lucy Conger's story "The Big-Country Enigma" examines why micro-credit has flourished in smaller countries like Peru and Bolivia while remaining somewhat small in scale in countries such as Brazil.

Does both over and under government regulation stand in the way to microfinance?