Microcredit was a major buzzword in the world of development aid in recent years, being breathlessly praised as a breakthrough panacea. But our guest today, professor Robert Lensink of the Faculty of Economics and Business of the University of Groningen, says that providing small amounts of financial support to individuals and projects can still be an effective tool, like most other trends, some bad actors took advantage of it and exploited the men and women on the receiving end. Microfinance can still be a powerful tool when its recipients are equipped with the right tools to protect themselves, but what is the effectiveness of other forms of intervention? Can aid ever be a true silver bullet, or does the entire system need to change first? Professor Lensink sat down with Econ 050 to discuss about the pros and cons of intervention.