When our inclusive markets work began in 2006, we focused on significantly improving the products and livelihoods available to low-income populations in India. We recognized that these groups were already participating in various markets, but received the lowest-quality goods and services and faced challenging livelihoods. We wanted to find ways to deliver something better to low-income households and grow those mechanisms over time.

But as some of these improved markets took off, new concerns emerged.

In the housing market, we saw that weak consumer protections led to incidents of predatory and exploitative commercial behavior, causing some customers to lose their savings and their chance of owning a decent home.

Most of the new affordable housing projects were open only to the majority Hindu community and not to minority Muslim households.

In agricultural value chains, we have observed how new schemes are being set up to provide greater market access to smallholder growers. But some of these have a single large buyer with a tremendous level of power in relation to the fragmented base of smallholder suppliers—a classic, problematic monopsony.

Read the full article on inclusive markets by Harvey Koh at FSG