Nearly forty percent of humanity lives on an average of two dollars a day or less. If you've never had to survive on an income so small, it is hard to imagine. How would you put food on the table, afford a home, and educate your children? And how would you handle emergencies and old age? Every day, more than a billion people around the world must answer these questions. "Portfolios of the Poor" is the first book to systematically explain how the poor find solutions to their everyday financial problems. The authors conducted year-long interviews with impoverished villagers and slum dwellers in Bangladesh, India, and South Africa - records that track penny by penny how specific households manage their money. The stories of these families are often surprising and inspiring. Most poor households do not live hand to mouth, spending what they earn in a desperate bid to keep afloat. Instead, they employ financial tools, many linked to informal networks and family ties. They push money into savings for reserves, squeeze money out of creditors whenever possible, run sophisticated savings clubs, and use microfinancing wherever available. Their experiences reveal new methods to fight poverty and ways to envision the next generation of banks for the 'bottom billion.' Indispensable for those in development studies, economics, and microfinance, "Portfolios of the Poor" will appeal to anyone interested in knowing more about poverty and what can be done about it.

乔纳森•默多克(Jonathan Morduch) 纽约大学公共政策和经济学教授，拥有哈佛大学经济学博士学位。专注于微型金融和金融市场方面的研究，研究组织FAI(Financial Access Initiative）的领导者。《微型金融经济学》（The Economics of Microfinance）的作者之一。

斯图尔特•拉瑟福德(Stuart Rutherford) 孟加拉国微型金融机构SafeSave的创始人。拥有剑桥大学一等学位。他用超过三十年的时间来了解穷人的理财生活，并前往拉丁美洲、非洲和亚洲的贫民窟和村庄地区进行深入的考察和研究。曾著《穷人和他们的钱》（The Poor and Their Money）。

达瑞尔•柯林斯（Daryl Collins） 美国波士顿BFA(Bankable Frontier Associates)高级顾问。曾任南非开普敦大学高级讲师，拥有伦敦经济学院经济学学士和硕士学位。

奥兰达•鲁思文(Orlanda Ruthven) 现任职于Impactt贸易咨询组织。曾在英国国际发展部（DFID）从事微型金融研究和咨询工作。拥有曼彻斯特大学人类学学士学位，伦敦大学亚非学院发展研究硕士学位，牛津大学国际发展博士学位。