Macro- and Microeconomics and Social Marketing

This Chapter describes the macro- and microeconomic context of development, highlighting the interrelated factors, institutions, and policies at different levels, which are related to the community. Thereupon, an assessment is given of the macroeconomic approaches in the struggle against poverty, followed by the microeconomic development for a better livelihood. As is also the case with the broader conceptualisation of poverty, it becomes clear from the increasing trends of utility-related research in micro-economics that the livelihood of the community consists of more than income alone, but also on access to better health and education, and on the optimisation of local knowledge and wisdom. Embarking on the general theory of economics, the view that individuals will maximise utility, that firms will maximise profit and that states will maximise welfare, which is conceptualised as more than just an aggregation of individual utilities of all citizens together, the supporters of the new approaches of Integrated Microfinance Management (IMM) and Integrated Community-Managed Development (ICMD) are advised to continue collecting data and case studies to accumulate evidence-based case studies of all the parties and stakeholders involved in the efficacy of their novel approach towards poverty reduction and sustainable community development.