Title: Combating rural poverty through altruism: a model for sustainable education

Authors: Jeffrey Overall

Addresses: School of Business, Nipissing University, Canada

Abstract: Nepal, one of the poorest nations, is plagued with high illiteracy rates and child labour. The children that enter the workforce, namely from rural areas, experience inhumane conditions and many enter the human trafficking trade. With a reach of over 100 million people and 68% of beneficiaries crossing the poverty line, micro-financing has proven to be an effective tool at addressing rural poverty. However, there are disadvantages hidden in these statistics, namely usurious interest rates, high enterprise failure rates, and aggressive repayment schemes that cannot only perpetuate impoverished conditions, but can also contribute to them. To address the disadvantages of micro-financing, a model for sustainable education is developed in this paper using altruism theory and the banking monetary multiplier. Through this model: 1) the cycle of poverty can be reduced; 2) literacy rates can be increased; 3) the supply of children that are trafficked abroad can be minimised.

Keywords: altruism; child labour; human trafficking; microfinance; Nepal; non-profit; rural poverty; social entrepreneurship; sustainable development; sustainable education; sustainability; rural poor; literacy rates; interest rates; enterprise failures; repayment schemes; banking monetary multiplier.

DOI: 10.1504/WREMSD.2017.080742

World Review of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development, 2017 Vol.13 No.1, pp.69 - 83

Received: 08 Aug 2014
Accepted: 23 Feb 2015
Published online: 06 Dec 2016 *