No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.
Rural Credit Programs and Women'S Empowerment in Bangladesh
Abstract
This paper presents findings from a study of Grameen Bank and the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), two programs that provide credit to poor rural women in Bangladesh. The programs were found to have significant effects on eight different dimensions of women's empowerment. The authors use a combination of sample survey and case study data to argue that the success of Grameen Bank, is particular, in empowering women is due both to its strong, central focus on credit, and its skillful use of rules and rituals to make the loan program function.
... This is because they have to deal with behaviors and limits on their independence that have been passed down through generations to keep men in power. More importantly, the social mobility of the respondents has improved significantly, which is one of the important indicators of women's empowerment (Hashemi et al., 1996). These findings also corroborate some of the prior studies, such as Gartaula & Niehof (2013), Debnath andSelim (2009), andRahman (2009). ...
... Drawing upon the evidence of this study and following Kabeer's framework, it can be inferred that changing gender roles due to male out-migration have certainly contributed to empowering rural women in Bangladesh. Hashemi et al. (1996), however, propose another framework for women's empowerment, who suggest that eight things should be fair for women in order to be empowered: the ability to move around, the ability to make small and large purchases, the ability to be involved in big decisions, the ability to be politically and legally aware, and the ability to participate in public protests and political campaigns. While this study suggests positive evidence in the first five indicators as discussed above (i.e., mobility, economic security, ability to make small and large purchases, and major decision-making), the other three indicators are not well achieved. ...
... Absent husbands have compelled many left-behind wives to come out of their homes and take part in everyday activities, such as daily shopping, attending to the health and educational needs of the family members, maintaining agricultural activities, financial management of the family, and overall household decision-making. Women have had some freedom, mobility, access to resources, use of agency, and decision-making while doing these things, which are all signs of empowerment according to Kabeer (1999) and Hashemi et al. (1996). Women whose husbands send regular remittances feel more empowered, as remittance inflows provide women with additional resources and opportunities for the betterment of the family. ...
Although male migration from rural areas of Bangladesh to various destinations abroad has been a common practice, there is, however, a dearth of studies to document the impact of such male out-migration on the left-behind wives who are supposed to shoulder the overall familial responsibilities left by their husbands in a pa-triarchal society. How does an absent husband contribute to changing gender roles for the left-behind wives? What are the challenges women face while performing the daily responsibilities left by their husbands? Do women feel a stronger sense of belonging to the family and a sense of empowerment through performing public space activities and exercising their agency? This study revolves around these questions and examines how male out-migration abroad has contributed to changing traditional gender roles in rural Bangladesh, and thereby empowered women in the family. Drawing upon a mixed-method approach with both quantitative and qualitative data, the findings of this study suggest that women feel empowered through the process of engaging in various activities previously carried out by their husbands, such as cultivating and managing land (p = .001), maintaining a house (p = .001), taking care of domestic animals (p = .030), ensuring health facilities for the family members (p = .001), taking care of social responsibilities (p = .001), ensuring family security (p = .001), and managing financial matters (p = .002). This study also reveals that women feel empowered when they do not need to seek permission to go outside the home (p = .001). Moreover, women whose husbands send regular remittances feel significantly more empowered than women whose husbands do not or inadequately send remittances (p = .001). This study further identifies significant barriers that women encounter while pursuing everyday tasks outside the home. These barriers include, but are not limited to the husbands' lack of willingness to send remittances (p = .001), non-cooperation from family members (p = .027), negative social attitudes and pressure to comply with traditional gender norms (p = .001), and religious disapproval of exposing women to public space (p = .001). The findings of this study provide a new theoretical argument on how women could be empowered through the process of male out-migration and absent husbands, which opens up space for the women to come out of their private sphere and engage in public activities to meet everyday family necessities, thereby positively impacting on decision-making, authority exercising, a better sense of belonging to the family, and overall empowerment of the women.
... Again, a Women Empowerment Index (WEI) developed in the context of India by Roy et al. (2018) influenced the inclusion of variables. Also, studies by Asadullah et al. (2021) and Hashemi et al. (1996) provided different angles of judgments regarding microcredit program's relation to women empowerment. All these have been adjusted and conceptualized in Bangladesh by the authors of this study. ...
... The data questionnaire is enclosed in the Appendix-A, where the data has been ordinal data in nature, in a Likert scale of 0 to 4. Also, information on net income before taking microfinance loans and net income after taking microfinance loans has been collected for meeting the second aim of the research. Hashemi et al. (1996), this has been considered proxy for socio-economic development of women microentrepreneurs. This variable represents that woman have security against economic vulnerability and capital enhancement history from microfinance. ...
... The ability of women in income and purchase comparing to the past represents benefits which impacts socio-economic development (Hashemi et al., 1996). ...
... Women who earn money are often perceived as independent, empowered, and capable (Lennon, 1994;Bittman et al., 2003). They are seen as contributors to the household and the economy, which can enhance their bargaining power within the household (Goetz & Sen Gupta, 1996;Hashemi et al, 1996;Agarwal, 1997;Salway et al., 2003Salway et al., , 2005Kabeer, 2005;Anderson & Eswaran, 2009;Blau, Ferber, and Winkler, 2016). Money can serve as an even better bargaining chip when a woman's contribution to family finances is significant, especially in households where the husband earns less or in poor households (Vogler & Pahl, 1994;Bertrand, Kamenica, & Pan, 2015;Majlesi, 2016). ...
... This can help to reduce male dominance and create a more equitable relationship. Some studies suggest that access to money or earning income (through participation in microfinance groups or targeted transfer payments) decrease domestic partner violence (Goetz & Sen Gupta, 1996;Hashemi et al., 1996;Hidrobo, Peterman, & Heise, 2016). ...
This study investigates the relationship between women’s earnings and empowerment in India, focusing on married women aged 15-49. Utilizing data from the Indian DHS (2019–21), the research employs Bayesian statistical analyses to explore how earning money influences women’s empowerment in areas like financial and bodily autonomy, marital rights, attitudes towards intimate partner violence, and peer recognition. The study reveals that while earning money enhances women’s financial and bodily autonomy, decision-making capacity, and societal recognition, it simultaneously restricts their marital rights, degrades intimate partner relations, and increases the risk of domestic violence. The findings contribute to the discourse on gender equality, offering empirical insights into the complexities of women’s empowerment in India. This research has practical implications for policymakers, NGOs, and stakeholders working towards women’s empowerment, providing a deeper understanding of the varied impact of women’s economic contributions in India’s socio-cultural context.
... • It is observed [15] that rural Bangladeshi women who participated in Grameen Bank programs experienced greater autonomy and mobility. ...
... • Beneficiaries often believe that microcredit programs contribute to providing their children with better education and access to health care [15][16]. ...
Microcredit has emerged as an innovative tool for poverty reduction in developing countries, and Bangladesh is often considered a global leader in its adoption. This study explores the impact of microcredit initiatives on poverty reduction in Bangladesh, focusing on how small, unsecured loans empower marginalized people, particularly rural women. Through case studies, field studies, and analysis of secondary data, the study investigates how access to microcredit promotes entrepreneurship, improves household incomes, and enhances social welfare. The results show that microcredit programs, primarily implemented by institutions such as Grameen Bank, BRAC, ASA, and Palli Sanchay Bank, have been successful in reducing poverty by creating income opportunities and promoting selfemployment. Additionally, they also contribute to improvements in health, education, and gender equality. However, it also highlights challenges such as excessive debt, high interest rates, and limited scalability, which can hinder long-term gains. This study emphasizes that while microcredit is not the only solution to poverty, it is an important part of a holistic approach to sustainable development. Bangladesh's experience offers valuable lessons for other countries seeking to replicate successful poverty reduction strategies.
... Although a growing literature in development economics has focused on identifying factors that can improve women's say in the household, a primary focus has been on the role played by access to microcredit and working outside the home (Eswaran, 2014;Hashemi, Schuler, & Riley, 1996;Kabeer, 2001;Anderson & Eswaran, 2009). The argument that microcredit may improve women's empowerment is based on the following observations: Women, especially in developing countries, lack access to formal credit markets, which may constrain entrepreneurship and economic independence. ...
... Empirical evidence on the effects of microcredit membership on women's decision-making power within the household is conflicting. Some researchers find that microcredit enhances women's earning capability, which, in turn, contributes to their empowerment (Hashemi et al., 1996;Kabeer, 2001;Pitt, Khandker & Cartwright, 2006), while others do not find any positive impact (Goetz & Gupta, 1996;Garikipati, 2008;Bajracharya & Amin, 2013;Banerjee et al., 2013). It has been noted in the literature that home-based activities financed by microcredit NGOs may not be effective in improving women's position in the household because they are treated as "invisible income," similar to much of women's unpaid work in home goods production and on the farm. ...
A significant empirical literature on women's say in the household focuses on the effects of microcredit, but there is little evidence on the relative roles of access to credit and education. Using household survey data from Bangladesh, this paper provides a comparative analysis of the effects of education and credit on women's decision-making power in the household with regard to their own and children's health, large purchases, and geographic mobility. In the absence of credible exclusion restrictions, the paper implements Oster's (2019) bias-adjusted OLS estimator, which extends Altonji et al.'s (2005) approach in which "selection on observables" serves as a guide to "selection on unobservables." In addition, it uses a doubly robust radius matching estimator due to Lechner et al. (2011). The evidence suggests a limited impact of credit on the decision-making power of women, and this is consistent with the recent evidence from RCT-based studies in other developing countries. In contrast, education is much more important for enhancing women's say in a range of household decisions. There is no significant interaction effect between education and credit. Evidence from Gelbach's (2016) decomposition suggests that outside employment is an important mediating mechanism, but household wealth and assortative marriage matching on education are not important. The impact of education on women's decision-making remains strong even after controlling for these mediating factors, pointing to the importance of other mechanisms, such as self-confidence and better negotiation skills of educated women.
... Women's material situation demands practical needs, as well as strategic needs resulting from their gendered position in society (Wieringa, 1994;Naz,2006). In Bangladesh, the collateral free microcreditsare a strong weapon of economic independence for the rural women as it fulfils women's strategic as well as practical needs (Hashemi, Schuler, and Riley, 1996). ...
... Kabeer (2005) has emphasized the expansion of individuals' abilities to make tactical life choices which were previously denied. Hashemi, Schuler, and Riley (1996) identified eight empowerment indicators: mobility, economic security, ability to make small purchases, ability to make large purchases, involvement in major household decisions, relative freedom from family domination, political and legal awareness, and involvement in political campaign and protests. ...
This study explored the factors (attributes) affecting women empowerment in Bangladesh focusing24specific attributes
grouped into six categories. The primary data is collected through a questionnaire survey of 176 urban women selected
through convenient sampling. The most agreed attributes are access to education, and the education of people. Next agreed
factors are social security, family support, women personality, women rights, legal rights, societal perception about women,
vocational training, work mobility, and NGO impact and support. Next in the row are break of study, income, voting rights,
savings, dowry, employment length, profession choice, wealth, inheritance. The disagreed factors are public or private
education, and sibling status.
The analysis of group variables showed that environment is the most important group followed by rights, education, family
dynamics, finance, and employment. The important environmental factors include social security, and societal perception
about women. NGO impact and support also plays a key role. Regarding rights the significant factors are awareness of
women, legal, and voting rights. In the education group, access to education, and level of education of people are the
two most crucial factors. Also, vocational education, as well as break of study play important roles. But public or private
education have no effect in women empowerment.
Regarding family dynamics, family support, and women personality are two important variables. Dowry payment, and
marital status also found to carry less weight. But sibling status have no impact on women empowerment. Financial
factors play lesser role in women empowerment. In this group income and savings are key factors followed by wealth and
inheritance. Employment is the least important group variable. Here work mobility found to help women empowerment
followed by length of employment. Parental leave was found to have no impact. Demographically not much difference in
opinion is observed.
Keywords: Education, Employment, Environment, Family Dynamics, Finance, Rights
... Women's susceptibility is influenced by societal norms, whereas disasters can impact women's social position (Azong & Kelso, 2021). In Bangladesh, the interplay of patrilineal descent systems and patrilocal residency practices like purdah, mobility restriction, and constraints in outdoor work, leads to the social and economic subordination of women, perpetuating their social and economic dependency on men (Hashemi et al., 1996). ...
Women in Bangladesh are disproportionately affected by
recurrent flooding events, which have a negative impact on
them. Women are more susceptible and less adaptable than
males in flood disasters due to socio-cultural barriers
perpetuated by society. The objective of this research is to
explore the challenges impede women’s ability to adapt and
increase their capacity in flood-affected areas of
Bangladesh. To accomplish this goal, a qualitative research
approach was utilized, including Focus Group Discussions
with six unique groups, and conducting In-depth interviews
with a total of thirty participants. The research illustrates
that women’s susceptibility issues are worsened by rural
communities and flood disasters due to their lack of
adaptability. This is mostly attributed to the patriarchal
culture prevalent in rural Bangladesh, which poses
challenges in acquiring the necessary knowledge, skills,
resources, and capacity for adaption. Hence, this article
argues in favour of the government’s unwavering
commitment to effectively utilizing the complete potential
of women to enhance their ability to adapt and integrate
them into the broader fabric of society, thereby promoting
positive societal progress by reducing their vulnerability.
... Realizing they are capable of more than simply keeping the house running, women are eager to contribute financially to their families and the nation as a whole. [5] Entrepreneurship is seen as a crucial component in contributing to the progress of the community. A gender-focused universal entrepreneurship study, published in 2013 by computer manufacturer Dell and Washington-based advisory firm Global Entrepreneurship and Development Institute (GEDI), found that India is one of the worst countries for An Analysis of the Effects of Self-Help Groups on Member's Financial Situation women entrepreneurs. ...
Various effects of self-help groups on member’s financial circumstances are investigated in this research. Analysed thoroughly, it reveals these organisations revolutionary capacity to strengthen economic resilience and promote financial empowerment. Credit is more easily obtained, members are more likely to save money, and members are more likely to practise good money management because of the joint efforts and mutual support fostered by self-help organisations. Furthermore, member’s financial capacities are further enhanced by the social dynamics that foster responsibility and confidence among these organisations. Not only may self-help organisations improve individuals' financial well-being, but they also contribute to wider socio-economic growth and community empowerment, according to this study.
... Since its introduction in 1976 by Dr. Muhammad Yunus (a Bangladeshi economist), microcredit has been the subject of many different impact evaluation studies across the globe. Berger [1], Hashemi et al. [2], and Khandker [3] are among the earliest research efforts that have examined the effects of microcredit on households from its inception. Recently, numerous studies worldwide have sought to find evidence of microcredit effects on many different aspects of household welfare. ...
... Microfinance -Microfinance has a notable impact on women's empowerment. Hashemi, Schuler, and Riley (1996) observed that women participants in microfinance programs experienced increased self-confidence, decision-making power, and social status. They also noted improvements in women's income and control over household resources. ...
This study conducts a bibliometric analysis to examine research on socio-economic progress, focusing on ESAF Bank customers. By analyzing publications, citation patterns, and key trends, the study identifies the most influential research, prevalent themes, and gaps within the literature. The findings provide insights into the role of microfinance in socio-economic development, particularly through ESAF Bank's interventions. This analysis not only highlights the academic landscape surrounding socio-economic progress but also serves as a valuable reference for future research, policymakers, and stakeholders aiming to enhance microfinance's impact on community development
... Lending to poor women under a group-based methodology pioneered by Grameen Bank has successfully helped microfinance expansion, although Bangladesh, a predominantly Muslim country, primarily resisted women's outdoor economic activities. The issue of women's empowerment (in various dimensions) by giving them access to finance and subsequently enhancing their role in family and community has been argued by researchers (Aladuwaka & Momsen, 2013;Hashemi et al., 1996;Holvoet, 2005;Kabeer, 2001;Pitt & Khandker, 1998). Nevertheless, Karim (2008) has vehemently opposed this idea and claimed that although women borrow, in 95% of cases, their husbands or other males behind the scenes appear as the end users of the funds. ...
This article presents a comparative position of banks and microfinance institutions (MFIs) in reaching rural enterprises in Bangladesh, particularly in lending and savings services. We have gathered data from 225 respondents through a questionnaire survey on the demand side of the rural market of Bangladesh. The rural financial market is still mostly informal and underserved. MFIs have reached nearer physically and through the lending methodology to rural enterprises despite capability constraints in fund arrangement having organisational limitations to expand as per demand. On the other hand, conventional banks are not as near as MFIs are, particularly in remote rural areas. The attitude of bank officials, including the culture developed within the organisation, is a major barrier for rural enterprises to access credit and other desired financial services. However, people expect more from banks than MFIs despite the persistent reluctance of banks to be nearer. In both cases, products are imperfectly designed to cater to a wide range of rural people and their enterprises.
... and a Beta of 0.298, underscoring the critical importance of involving community members in development initiatives. This finding aligns with studies by Hashemi et al. (2016) that emphasize the transformative role of community involvement in driving local economic development. Collectively, these results underscore the need to prioritize skills development, infrastructure enhancements, social infrastructure, and community engagement to effectively promote job creation within the IDM framework. ...
This study proposes to explore the experiences and challenges of the integrated development program model on job creation in Rwanda’s Gasabo District. The study aims to understand how this model contributes to job opportunities, economic empowerment and community development within the district. In terms of methodology, the study adopted a mixed methods approach. The study combined qualitative and quantitative research techniques. Surveys quantified the extent of job creation, while interviews explored the perceived social and economic impacts on the local population, including challenges encountered in implementing this model. The results revealed that the implementation of the integrated development model (IDM) in the Gasabo District reveals significant positive outcomes, particularly in healthcare, infrastructure, and financing initiatives for women and youth. High approval ratings were noted for health centre establishment (M = 4.90, SD = 0.43) and infrastructure improvements (M = 4.70, SD = 0.71), underscoring their critical roles in economic development. Job creation showed promise, with small-scale business initiation with a mean score of 4.66 although challenges in income diversification persisted (Mean = 3.84, St. dev = 1.26). A strong correlation (R = 0.807) was found between various predictors and job creation, with skills development emerging as a significant predictor (B = 0.149, p < .001). The study concluded that the integrated development program model promoting job creation in Gasabo District where the R Square value of 0.651 indicates that approximately 65.1% of the variance in job creation can be attributed to Integrated Development Model (IDM) implementation in the Gasabo District. Limitations: the limitations of the study include potential biases in self-reported data and the geographical limitation to Gasabo District, which may not fully capture the national context. Contribution: The findings of this study contribute to the understanding of integrated development program models in job creation and provide policy recommendations for enhancing these interventions. By highlighting the role of community-based interventions, this research can provide a scalable model for other districts in Rwanda and beyond. Importantly this research increased insights into how integrated development program models can address unemployment and promote sustainable economic growth.
... Studies have demonstrated that microfinance contributes to the development of women. Hashemi et al. (1996) showed that women's involvement in income-generating activities increased their decision-making power, self-confidence, and social status The 38 Sustainable Micro Financing and Its Effect on Women Empowerment: Study of Pakistan studies reveal, microfinance programmes in Bangladesh. Mayoux (2001) argued that by empowering women to question conventional gender roles and engage in incomegenerating activities, microfinance programmes can help reduce gender inequalities. ...
This study implies research on the impact of microfinance sustainability on the empowerment of Pakistani women. Microfinance has been perceived as a successful apparatus for destitution mitigation and empowerment of women in emerging nations, including Pakistan. In any case, the sustainability of microfinance programs has involved concern, and there is a need to investigate practical microfinance as an expected answer to the supportability issue. A huge extent of the world's poor is comprised of women, and they frequently face boundaries to getting too formal monetary frameworks, which makes them helpless against neediness and double-dealing. Microfinance furnishes women with access to credit, reserve funds, and other monetary administrations, empowering them to start and develop limited-scope undertakings, support their income, and upgrade their financial status. Studies have shown that microfinance decidedly affects women's empowerment, including expanded dynamic power, self-assurance, and societal position. Be that as it may, there is a lacking investigation of into the impact of the sustainability of microfinancing on the empowerment of Pakistani women. This exploration concentrates on utilizing a qualitative research design to investigate the role of sustainable microfinance in improving women's empowerment in Pakistan. An example of 50 women recipients of microfinance in the locale was picked by applying a purposive sampling technique. Information was collected through semi-organized interviews, focus groups, formal discussions, and analysis of documents. The findings of the review add to the current information on microfinance sustainability and its impact on the empowerment of women. The review will likewise give bits of knowledge into the strategy and practice implications of microfinance programs for women empowerment in Pakistan. The results of this study are significant for microfinance professionals, policymakers, and specialists keen on the convergence of microfinance and women empowerment in Pakistan.
... So Bangladeshi government has been endeavoring to lessen poverty among its citizens and to reach the SDGs goal through micro-credits. Several NGOs are also giving micro-credits to the poor in an effort to increase their income and alleviate their miserable situations (Hashemi et al., 1996;Hossain, 1988;Yunus, 1999). According to the MRA (2020), there are around 40 million micro-credit recipients in Bangladesh, and there are Taka 1696.24 billion amount of outstanding loans. ...
Micro-credit has been playing a vital role in developing wetland people’s socio-economic status by facilitating their income-generating activities such as seasonal fish farming, raising ducks and cattle, and floating vegetable gardens. Wetland people’s livelihoods are largely dependent on borrowing micro-credits, but access to formal credits is somewhat intricate for them due to procedural complexity. Therefore, this study aims to explore the potential discriminating factors of formal credits in the wetland region of Bangladesh. This study used data from 1607 micro-credit receiver households that were collected by a research project sponsored by the GARE Program, Ministry of Education, Government of Bangladesh. The discriminant analysis was performed to explore the factors discriminating between formal and informal credit-receiving groups. This study considered three types of factors such as borrower’s individual-level, household-level, and micro-credit related characteristics as the potential factors distinguishing between formal and informal credits. The findings show that micro-credit-related factors such as the number of installments, duration of the loan, and rate of interest are more crucial for affecting formal credit in the wetland peoples of Bangladesh. Most vulnerable groups in the wetland region still struggle to obtain formal credit because of obstacles such as a lower number of installments, lower duration of loans, and high interest rates. The government policy should remove these obstacles to ensure the people's easy access to formal loans, which would ultimately improve their socio-economic conditions. International Journal of Statistical Sciences, Vol. 24(2), November, 2024, pp 85-96
... According to Pillai (1995) [7] "Empowerment is an active multi dimensional process which enables women to realize their full identity and powers in all spheres of life. Hoshemi (1996) [2] developed five indictors to measure women's empowerment: mobility, economic security, ability to make larger purchases, realize freedom from domination within the family and political and legal awareness and involvement in political campaigning and protests with this in mind. An attempt is made in the following situation to measure empowerment of women respondents. ...
The World Bank has recommended that the focal point of social development initiatives should be women's empowerment (World Bank, 2001). Additionally, India has accepted a number of international conventions aimed at ensuring women's equality. "The women's movement and a wide spread network of NGOs which have strong grass roots presence and deep in right into women's concerns have contributed in inspiring initiatives for the empowerment of women," according to the National Policy for the Empowerment of Women (2001). But the policy also notes that there is "a vast gap between the situational reality of the status of women in India, on the one hand, and the aims enunciated in the constitution, legislative policies, plans, programmes, and the corresponding institutions, on the other. Gender equality is demonstrated. Many academics have debated and analysed the idea of empowerment; for the sake of this discussion, the conceptual framework proposed by United Nations is a good place to start. The procedures by which women expand their choices and take charge of their life are known as empowerment (United Nations, 2001). It is therefore the process of gaining the capacity to make wise decisions in life within the framework in which that capacity has already been identified. The fundamental components of empowerment have been identified as agency-the capacity to choose and pursue goals-awareness of gendered power dynamics, self-worth, and self-assurance. Individual, household, community, and societal empowerment are all possible at different hierarchical levels. Encouraging factors, like exposure to new activities that can develop capacities, can be provided, and limiting factors, like a lack of resources and skills, can be removed, to enable empowerment. "Empowerment is an active multidimensional process that enables women to realize their full identity and powers in all spheres of life," claims Pillai (1995). Effective roles, policies, and programs for the development and empowerment of women have been adopted in recent years as a result of the focus placed on women in planning, policy making, and government. Women's empowerment will also lead to additional work opportunities, which will change their socioeconomic, political, and educational backgrounds. Government of India and the state of Karnataka have launched many programs for women empowerment. The study is purely theoretical which is based on secondary data sources. Necessary information about women empowerment programs in Karnataka state and its various parts is collected from books, magazines, online sources or similar subject.
... Quantitative data were derived from existing case studies and impact assessments published by microfinance institutions, academic journals, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) (Duvendack et al., 2011). Qualitative insights were drawn from thematic analyses of reports, interviews, and focus groups available in the literature to capture narratives on the social changes induced by microfinance participation (Hashemi et al., 1996). The data were analyzed to identify patterns and variations in social impact, focusing on changes in educational attainment, healthcare access, and social empowerment indicators. ...
This study explores the social impact of microfinance, assessing its effects beyond traditional economic metrics, such as income growth. Employing a mixed-method approach, it analyzed quantitative data from existing case studies and qualitative insights from thematic analyses, focusing on education, healthcare access, and empowerment among microfinance recipients. Major findings reveal a statistically significant link between microfinance participation and improved social indicators, with Chi-square analysis confirming strong social empowerment correlations, particularly in countries like Bangladesh and India (p < 0.05). Additionally, ANOVA results highlight regional differences in educational and healthcare impacts (p < 0.01), while correlation analysis shows a positive relationship (r > 0.7) between economic stability and social gains. The study concludes that microfinance yields holistic benefits, suggesting that future assessments should integrate both economic and social metrics. Recommendations include adopting comprehensive evaluation frameworks, promoting empowerment initiatives, enhancing healthcare and education access, fostering community cohesion, and tailoring programs to cultural contexts.
... The modern concept of microfinance was found in the 1970s when The microcredit programs target women, arguing that credit is economically empowering; refining gender equality, increasing women's income, status in the family, also health, educational status, nutrition of other household members (Kabeer, 2001; Radovic Markovic and Salamzadeh, 2012). Additionally, women are seen as a worthy credit risk by microfinance, gestured by high tendency to reimburse (Hashemi et al., 1996). In contrast, male borrowers are involving in riskier business practices, or individual moral danger glitches by consuming money on tobacco, gambling, drink, or restaurants in town (Goetz and Gupta, 1996). ...
The study examines the tendency of low growth of entrepreneurship in women who take a small loan from microfinance institutions. In this context, 100 borrowers were selected, and through the questionnaire , the data was gathered to measure the impact of microfinance on women entrepreneurial growth in Pakistan. The main parameters of this research were the trend of the startup of the business, the limit of the amount of loan, and training of entrepreneurship. The one sample t-test and Pearson correlation statistical techniques were selected to analyze the data through SPSS. It is concluded that; about 80% women do not start a business, the credit limit is low that ranges from Rs2000 to 40000, there is dire need of Women Entrepreneurial Training (WET) an upsurge in the limit of loan that directly correlates with the growth of a female enterprise. Moreover, the establishment of the Women Entrepreneurial Cooperative Society (WECS) can address the low growth of women entrepreneurship issue effectively. The study was conducted during the months of
... Since its introduction in 1976 by Dr. Muhammad Yunus (a Bangladeshi economist), microcredit has been the subject of many different impact evaluation studies across the globe. Berger [1], Hashemi et al. [2], and Khandker [3] are among the earliest research efforts that have examined the effects of microcredit on households from its inception. Recently, numerous studies worldwide have sought to find evidence of microcredit effects on many different aspects of household welfare. ...
Although microcredit is generally regarded as an excellent instrument for assisting borrowers in improving their well-being, its contribution to improving family financial status is often overlooked. This study addresses this issue by examining the effects of microcredit programs in Vietnam on household financial portfolios. We utilize a balanced panel dataset of 1157 identical households from two Vietnamese provinces collected in 2016, 2017, and 2022. The estimated results are calculated using the multivariate Tobit method and the instrumental variable regression method. The findings prove that microcredit increases households' lending, savings, and investments. The results are consistent with the conceptual framework and robust to different econometric models and samples. The study suggests some policy implications based on its findings.
... Her findings in India showed that female workers who have access to productive resources are significantly increasing their agency in both the family and the labor market [159]; however, the author has shown that the money obtained from loans is sometimes diverted to improve household income, thus calling for the need to ensure women's control over the assets created by loans [70,160]. Meanwhile, Swain focuses on the role of SHGs as a source of finance and their effect on female empowerment [161][162][163][164]. Similarly, Schuler has studied the effect of women's participation in rural credit programs on their empowerment, finding favorable results in Bangladesh [165,166]. ...
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) emphasize promoting and protecting women's rights and privileges. As a result, an increasing body of academic literature describes the various actions taken by different stakeholders to empower women. Amongst the initiatives implemented in many nations, microfinance and financial inclusion programs play a major role. This article aims to present an overview and synthesis of the research on the notion and practices of microfinance and its influence on entrepreneur women's empowerment. In order to do so, this study uses bibliometric techniques over a selection of papers extracted from the Web of Science database, to disentangle the knowledge structure of this academic field. According to our findings, the study of microfinance and women's empowerment is growing, with 470 publications, 963 authors, 67 nations and 36 research areas. Research topics include poverty reduction, gender issues in entrepreneurship, microfinance and women empowerment, and women in microcredit. An additional bibliographic coupling analysis has revealed the hottest research topics, showing the main gaps in the literature that suggest potential directions for future research.
... This disparity is not because women are inferior entrepreneurs, farmers, or wage workers; it is rather the result of differences in the size of their businesses and farms, in the sectors in which they operate, and in human capital (health and education) and returns to this capital (World Bank 2012. Hashemi et al. (1996) focuses on the impact of rural credit programmes on women's empowerment in Bangladesh. The researchers examine the Grameen Bank's microcredit programme and its effects on women's social and economic empowerment. ...
This research paper presents a study depicting the relationship between financial inclusion and women's empowerment in the Jammu district of India. This paper examines the barriers faced by women in accessing formal financial services and analyses the effectiveness of existing financial inclusion programmes in Jammu district. The findings reveal that various socioeconomic and cultural factors contribute to the limited financial inclusion of the women. This paper ends by offering recommendations for policymakers, financial institutions and civil society organizations to enhance financial inclusion so as to promote women's empowerment in the Jammu district.
... As indicated by Saito et al. (1994) technical advice coupled with financial support could result in a livelihood impact to women farmers. The finding of Hashemi et al. (1996) also shows this. The Grameen Bank and the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) as one of a rural development strategy programs in rural Bangladesh provides credit to poor rural women. ...
We evaluate the short-term impact of financial support to smallholder farmers and training program for married women in two regions of Ethiopia. Using household-level panel data from the World Bank collected in 2010-2012, the combined Difference-In-Difference (DID) and matching methods are applied. The three main findings emerge from the analysis show that first; the program seems to improve rural households' annual income from farm and non-farm economic activities (26 percent). Second, financial incentive positively affects smallholders' innovative farm practices, adoption of modern technologies and new marketing approach. Third, only training to resource-poor rural women is not enough to their income-earning activities. Farm households engage themselves in non-farm economic activities measured in working days positively affect households' income. However, the whole household member participation in agricultural activities hurts income, suggesting that the surplus labor participation in a small land-holding household results in diminishing marginal return on income.
JEL Classification: C93, O12, Q14
... In Bangladesh, research on empowerment has not only seen it from both political and economic dimensions but also incorporated other factors which are vital in the country's context. In a milestone study conducted by Hashemi, Schuler, and Riley (1996) on Rural Credit Programs and Women's Empowerment in Bangladesh, they identified several reasons behind the isolation and subordination of women in (rural) Bangladesh. Some of these reasons are, but are not limited to: "systems of patrilineal descent, patrilocal residence and purdah system (system of secluding and protecting women from upholding social standards of modesty and morality)" (Hashemi et al. 1996, p, 67). ...
Access to Information (a2i) is a Government led nationwide program with 4,547 Union Digital Centers (UDCs) at every Union with two (one female and one male) entrepreneurships. With the aim of investigating to what extent ‘a2i’ is effective in promoting women empowerment through women entrepreneurship, this paper analyzed primary data collected from Shimulia Union Parishad (UP) and Muksudpur UP, Dhaka, Bangladesh. This paper indicates that the socioeconomic barriers are causing a2i program to have a less profound impact on promoting women empowerment through women entrepreneurship. With different recommendations from program level and policy level, this paper proposes that the design, redesign, and implementation of the a2i program should have a flexible characteristic so that it can address the socioeconomic challenges from within the scope of the program.
... In this study, the empowerment of women is the outcome variable. Various authors have measured the status of women's empowerment using a variety of dimensions (Ackerly 1995; Hashemi et al. 1996;Biswas and Kabir 2004;Mahmud et al. 2012;Nessa et al. 2012; Alkire et al. 2013; Malapit and Quisumbing 2015;Nath and Athinuwat 2021). This study, however, followed and adapted the dimensions used by Nessa et al. (2012) and Nath and Athinuwat (2021). ...
Background
In Bangladesh, livestock farming is not only a major source of animal protein, but it also provides opportunities for women to contribute to household income. Therefore, this study was undertaken to identify the empowerment status of women livestock farmers, factors influencing women's participation in livestock farming and its impact on women's empowerment.
Methods
The study was conducted in the Mymensingh district (administrative unit) of Bangladesh, due to the active participation of women in livestock farming activities. A total of 200 women were surveyed between May to November 2018. Additionally, prior to the final survey, 02 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) were performed to gain insight into the context of the study areas. Furthermore, a total of 12 semi-structured in-depth interviews were performed with 12 experienced women livestock farmers to collect data regarding the challenges they encounter in livestock farming. Women empowerment was measured using four domains: decision-making process, ownership of assets, social and political awareness, and freedom of mobility. Descriptive statistics, and Heckman's endogenous treatment effect model were applied to analyze the data.
Results
The results revealed that majority (75%) of women who are involved in livestock farming had a medium level of empowerment. Women's decision to participate in livestock farming was positively influenced by farm size, knowledge, extension contact, and training. According to the average treatment effect on the treated (ATT) value, the empowerment status of women is 16 points higher among participants in livestock farming compared to non-participants. Furthermore, women in rural areas face several obstacles such as economic issues and inadequate marketing facilities, which may prevent them from engaging in livestock farming.
Conclusions
Educating women through raising awareness and providing training is warranted because there is a notable disparity in the empowerment status of women who are and are not involved in livestock farming. This will help women improve their social awareness, decision-making capacity, and mobility. Livestock initiatives that encourage women's involvement could be generated by various rural-focused organizations.
... Outputs, however, reflect its social logic: the number of active female borrowers and a specific indicator that measures the benefits for the poor. Since one of the main social goals of microfinance is to empower women by providing capital, the number of women borrowers is commonly used as an indicator of social efficiency (see Basharat et al., 2015;Goetz & Gupta, 1996;Gutiérrez-Nieto et al., 2009;Hashemi et al., 1996;Zheng & Zhang, 2021). ...
Impact investing plays a critical role in financing enterprises that have the potential to tackle social problems through business means, particularly in developing countries. However, concerns about over‐indebtedness of microfinance institutions have fueled questions regarding potential trade‐offs between financial and social efficiency of impact investing and demand further investigation. Using the case of Cambodia's microfinance industry, this paper first examines whether the microfinance industry outperforms from the perspective of both social and financial returns. In addition, as impact investments by Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) form the backbone of the microfinance sector, a related objective is to investigate whether social or financial returns are more important for DFIs when making impact investment decisions. Using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and Tobit regression, our research finds that while Cambodian MFIs excel in financial efficiency, social efficiency is considerably lower. The analysis also finds that DFIs' investments are predominantly driven by financial efficiency rather than an approach that considers both social and financial outcomes. Our analysis suggests the need for enhanced impact measurement frameworks and a reevaluation of DFIs impact investing strategies to ensure a more equitable focus on both financial and social impacts.
... Patriarchy, characterized by male dominance and control over resources and decisionmaking, often limits women's opportunities for economic and social advancement (Sultana, A. (2010). Empirical evidence suggests that access to microcredit can lead to increased income and asset ownership among women, which can improve their bargaining power within households and communities (Hashemi, Schuler, & Riley, 1996). For example, Pitt, Khandker, and Cartwright (2012) found that women borrowers in Bangladesh experienced greater autonomy and decision-making power compared to non-borrowers. ...
This study investigates the impact of microcredit on poverty reduction and social status enhancement among rural women microentrepreneurs in patriarchal Southeast Nigeria. The objective is to assess whether microcredit improves economic conditions and elevates social standing within a traditionally patriarchal society. Employing a quantitative approach, the study surveyed 340 rural women who have accessed microcredit across four states in Southeast Nigeria. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire, and statistical analyses were conducted to evaluate the effects of microcredit on income generation and social status. The findings reveal that while microcredit significantly boosts income generation, its impact on social status is less pronounced, constrained by persistent patriarchal norms and limited supportive measures. To address this limited impact, it is recommended that microcredit programs be complemented with comprehensive social support services. Such initiatives should focus on improving community relationships and addressing gender-specific barriers within the socio-cultural context. By integrating these support mechanisms, microcredit programs can more effectively enhance both the economic and social standing of women, fostering a more supportive environment for their empowerment.
Purpose
This study examines the status of women’s empowerment and its socio-economic determinants based on living conditions across 22 Indian states and Union Territories by constructing a composite women empowerment index of six components including women participation in three household decisions(%) based on data from the National Family Health Survey(NFHS)-5, Phase I.
Design/methodology/approach
We carry out a principal component analysis (PCA) for constructing a women empowerment index based on the above six indicators using a correlation matrix. Then we apply a static panel data approach to find out the role of socio-economic determinants such as per capita income (State level per capita GDP), years of schooling, the underage marriage of girls, the standard of living conditions such as access to safe drinking water, sanitization facility, use of iodized salt, etc.
Findings
The constructed composite index based on PCA determines one composite index for each time period, that is 2015–2016 and 2019–2020. The static panel regression is run for the composite index and six components of the index. The regression results considering eight socioeconomic and living conditions parameters demonstrate that the variables like the use of clean fuel cooking, the underage marriage of women, access to improved sanitation facility have an important impact in explaining variations in women empowerment over the years.
Originality/value
The major observations of this study in understanding the status and determinants of women empowerment across Indian states clearly show that women education is the key to improving women empowerment apart from several living condition variables.
Peer review
The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-01-2023-0015
The limited influence of African women on resources and decision-making has posed significant challenges to their capabilities and empowerment for decades. The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of financial inclusion in advancing women’s economic empowerment within the Nigerian context, drawing on data from the 2018 Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey (DHS). The analysis focuses on women’s empowerment in terms of their participation in decision-making related to their own earnings and healthcare. Key financial inclusion variables include the use of mobile money and account ownership. The findings reveal that the odds of women making decisions regarding their earnings and healthcare are approximately 36% and 25% higher, respectively, for those who use mobile phones for financial transactions compared to those who do not. Additionally, women without an account in a financial institution exhibit approximately 42% and 32% lower odds of making decisions about their earnings and healthcare, respectively. This research contributes to the literature on digital financial inclusion and highlights its pivotal role in enhancing women's empowerment and promoting gender equality in Nigeria.
A growing number of HIV/AIDS programmes targets young women with economic empowerment approaches; but if the results are assessed, they tend to be in small scale and inconsistent. Since the number of young women living with HIV has continued to increase worldwide, it is critical that effective preventive and mitigation techniques be developed forthwith. New HIV infection among young women, has been difficult to reduce using traditional HIV preventive efforts because of their emphasis on individual behaviour modification. In Ragana Oruba ward, Migori county, the researcher attepted to find out how economic empowerment aproaches on young women’s can be used as a strategy for HIV prevention. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of technical vocational education ,f linkage to employment, linkage to micro-finance and entrepreneurship support as starategies of economic strenthening in HIV programing. The study used a descriptive survey research design within a qualitative and quantitative paradigm. The study’s representative samples were drawn using a systematic process of purposeful sampling. The study engaged a sample size of 177 participants, majority were young women, their female mentors, and few women working in an HIV prevention program that has incoparated economic empowernment approaches. The questionnaire was used to gather information. Quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics including percentages, means, and standard deviations. Bar charts, graphs, and pie charts, as well as descriptive text, were used to illustrate the data. Majority of the women intervied indicated that including economic empowernemnt approaches techniques into HIV prevention initiatives significantly lowered the number of new HIV infections. It is evident that most women are not economically independent and they prefer to start their own business or linked to employment to be able to improve their interpersonal relationships and in turn influence cultural attitudes about the roles of men and women. The result show that promoting micro-financing in the vulnerable population stimulates the establishment of Income-Generating Activities (IGAs) with an adverse effects on household and individual stability. The researcher suggested changes to county policy and HIV prevention initiatives based on these findings. To reduce new HIV infection amongst young women and alleviate poverty amongst them, the government has to develop and execute community-based micro-finance understanding for young women to gain access to resources and information on saving and loaning to boost self-sufficiency.
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to estimate the impact of Crediamigo Microcredit Program in Brazil on the financial situation of its recipients and investigate potential gender differences.
Study design: We use secondary data from the socioeconomic registry of Crediamigo, considering the active clients of the Program until 2021. Our identification strategy consists of using the Difference-in-Differences method.
Findings: The findings indicate that sustained participation in the program results in an average increase in operating profit, non-operating revenue, and payment capacity. Despite less favorable initial conditions and a lower average loan value, women experience significantly greater impacts.
Contributions: The main contribution focuses on using unique characteristics of Crediamigo to understand gender differences in financial performance.
Implications: By showcasing the benefits for female entrepreneurs, the findings offer valuable insights for more targeted financial initiatives and policies that bridge gender gaps and better serve female entrepreneurs.
India's microfinance programs have considerably advanced financial inclusion, economic growth, and social empowerment. Microfinance in India is poised to make a significant contribution to the nation's development. This study highlights the microfinance initiatives in India, focusing their outreach, effectiveness, and sustainability. Investigates the impact of sustainable entrepreneurship focusing on the employment generation on local economy. Deals with key challenges and opportunities faced by microfinance institutions (MFIs) in promoting sustainable entrepreneurship and women empowerment. In addition, the study focuses on the effectiveness of microfinance in enhancing women's economic independence, decision-making and social status. In summary, microfinance has revolutionized women's empowerment and sustainable entrepreneurship in the Indian economy. The current obstacles must be overcome in order to maintain and increase the benefits. This would guarantee that microfinance's advantages reach a larger number of people, helping to create inclusive economic environment in India.
The Purpose of This Book
Women in the Workforce for Viksit Bharat @ 2047 is more than a scholarly
examination; it is a blueprint for how India can achieve its developmental
goals by empowering its women. The title of this book,
(Capable Woman, Empowered India), reflects our belief that the
empowerment of women is inseparably linked with the empowerment of the
nation. A country where women are educated, skilled, and equal participants
in the workforce will be stronger and better positioned to lead on the global
stage. This book brings together the expertise of scholars, policymakers, industry
leaders, and grassroots activists to explore the current state of women in the
workforce and provide a forward-looking vision for their role in India’s
future. The chapters cover a wide range of topics, from policy interventions
and gender-sensitive workplace practices to the societal and cultural shifts
needed to enable true gender equality.
Microfinance plays a critical role in alleviating rural poverty, acting as a tool for financial inclusion and socioeconomic development. The provision of small-scale financial services such as loans, savings, and insurance to underserved populations, particularly in rural areas, has been shown to empower individuals, especially women, and stimulate local economies. This paper investigates the significance of microfinance in reducing poverty in rural regions by analyzing various microfinance institutions (MFIs) and their impact on rural communities. Through a comprehensive review of literature, research methodology, data analysis, and policy recommendations, this study aims to provide insights into how microfinance contributes to poverty reduction and highlights the challenges faced in its implementation.
This study analyses credit's effect on female-headed household welfare in Indonesia. This paper employed a dataset from the National Socio-economic Survey (SUSENAS) conducted in 2018, which contains approximately 45,000 observations of female-headed households in Indonesia. Welfare here is measured by expenditure per capita per month of the households. This study employed Propensity Score Matching to analyse the average effect of credit to expenditure while controlling confounding factors such as age, education, location, housing status, marriage status, housewife status, employment status, and household size. The result shows that the credit extension significantly affects the expenditure of female-headed households.
Improving women’s employment prospects has long been a goal of development agencies worldwide. Despite persistent gender gaps in labor force participation, women’s employment is heralded as a key mechanism for improving health and well-being. Yet, empirical evidence for the link between women’s work and child health is mixed. We examine the relationship between work and health from a cross-national and distributional perspective. More specifically, we estimate the impact of female labor force participation on infant mortality rates across 148 countries from 1990 to 2016 using unconditional quantile regression analysis. This technique allows for the possibility that the relationship between work and health may vary with level of mortality. Indeed, we find that the benefits of women’s labor force participation for child health are limited to the lowest end of the distribution, where infant mortality rates range from about 3.9 to 6.7 per 1,000 live births. In contrast, labor force participation seems to have a detrimental impact on infant mortality in some cases and no significant impact in many other cases. The results underscore previous cautions against taking a one-size-fits-all approach to development and suggest that promoting employment will not necessarily improve child health unless vulnerabilities in women’s work are addressed.
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> This research investigates the determinants of women's empowerment within households in a developing country. The investigation specifically focuses on the impact of employment and fertility, considering constraints imposed by family rules that play a pivotal role in shaping women's empowerment. The theoretical framework outlined in this study posits a simplistic model demonstrating that, within the prevailing family structure and household composition, earned income and fertility may bear significant relevance. Utilizing data extracted from the Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement Survey, we engage in estimating the level of female empowerment, operationalized as the extent of female authority over household expenditures. Notably, our empirical approach accounts for the endogeneity of employment and fertility through a two-stage estimation process. This involves leveraging information on family rules—representative of a family's cultural norms—pertaining to work and childbearing. Our empirical findings affirm the viability of family-specific rules as instruments to estimate and subsequently predict employment and fertility. Importantly, the evidence gleaned underscores the critical role of selecting valid threat options in theoretical analyses of women's empowerment. </p
This research work is essentially centred on the socio-economic activities of women in Ogbomoso and how these activities have influenced the development of Ogbomoso town, the Yorubaland, and the Nigerian state at a national level.
Introducción: En muchas partes del mundo, las mujeres han sido históricamente marginadas en muchas áreas, como la educación, el trabajo, la política y un sinfín de aspectos. Este hecho ha desencadenado barreras y frenos culturales que han impedido su independencia económica y social, lo que ha acortado sus oportunidades y ha aumentado la brecha entre géneros. Metodología: Se desarrolló un estudio de campo con una muestra de 100 mujeres académicas que en el momento de la recogida de información, trabajaban como docentes en universidades peruanas públicas o privadas de los departamentos de Tacna, Moquegua, Arequipa, Lima y Trujillo. Resultados: Los resultados muestran que la igualdad de género y la empreabilidad influyen significativamente en el empoderamiento femenino de las académicas en universidades del Perú, con un grado de significancia menor al 0.05. Discusión: Las desigualdades históricas que han enfrentado las mujeres siguen teniendo impactos intergeneracionales que alcanzan a la niñez actual. Sin embargo, el empoderamiento femenino no favorece solo a las mujeres, enriquece a toda la sociedad. Conclusiones: los resultados reflejan el consenso de académicas respecto a la desigualdad en temas laborales respecto al género.
Microcredit has received a lot of attention lately since it is hailed as a revolutionary financial instrument for reducing poverty and promoting economic empowerment. This piece explores the dual nature of microcredit, examining how it may be used as a tool for potential exploitation as well as a means of achieving financial security. This research highlights the critical role that microcredit has had in giving marginalised populations access to capital by drawing on an extensive analysis of empirical evidence. It looks at how microcredit initiatives have boosted community development, entrepreneurship, and income production, thereby empowering people, especially women. These encouraging results highlight microcredit's capacity to promote economic resilience and financial stability. On the other hand, the research also reveals the negative aspects of microcredit. The research indicates that low-income individuals with inadequate financial and educational backgrounds are using microcredit to cover everyday household needs because there are insufficient regulating authorities in place. With no other feasible choice, these people are turning to microcredit, where they frequently run into predatory practises such excessive interest rates and forceful loan practises. The positive effects of microcredit are overshadowed by these practises, which give rise to serious ethical and social concerns.
Education proves to be the influential factor in the enhancement of women empowerment particularly in the rural setup. The education raises the standards of women who are being considered a marginalized class and face several discriminations in the society. The education enhances social and economic conditions in raising social status for women. the women become more aware about their rights, opportunities, health and facilities which they can avail, with the acquisition of education. the education makes women able to challenge the odds and restrictions which hurdle in their upliftment and social status. The study has found the pivotal impact of education in development and welfare of women, their life conditions and wellbeing in the rural areas of Kashmir.
Les théories économiques restent généralement silencieuses sur la manière dont les rapports sociaux entre hommes et femmes affectent le développement économique. A l'inverse, comment ces mêmes processus déterminent-ils les rapports de genre ? C'est ce silence, cette "neutralité", ce non-dit, ce non-visible de l'économie que nous voulons davantage interroger ici en choisissant trois domaines significatifs dans lesquels se développent les politiques : l'ajustement structurel, les nouvelles règles du commerce mondial et le microcrédit.
The primary aim of microfinance is to provide credit to low-income households, enabling them to lift
themselves out of entrenched poverty. While many researchers argue that microfinance loans can
significantly reduce household poverty levels, others suggest that the impact is only modest. This paper
examines the effect of microfinance on household poverty in Delhi, using primary data from 70 households
in Delhi slums collected in 2016. The key findings indicate a 25 percent increase in monthly per capita
expenditure (MPCE) and around 13 percentage point reduction in the poverty rate among MFI clients,
suggesting that loans from MFIs have a positive effect on alleviating poverty, as evidenced by a decrease in
the proportion of households living below the poverty line.
Abstract
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are the most discussed matter in the developing countries due to their vast involvement in socio-economic development and poverty reduction programs, and Bangladesh has no exception. The purpose of this study is to identify how are NGOs playing a vital role in eradicating rural and overall poverty from Bangladesh. After the independence of Bangladesh, the numbers of NGOs and its socio-economic development as well as poverty reduction programs have been increasing gradually. The NGOs have come like a savior for innumerable people specially who were living their life without food, cloth, health, education, and other basic facilities. In the beginning stages NGOs were more active in assisting basic needed support, relief, rehabilitation, and other related activities. Gradually NGOs have been engaging in economical and social development activities. For social development they have been conducting two main important programs as SDP and TP, during 2016-17 around 55.31 million people received social service (including members) and about 1.89 million people were engaged in training programs by CDF’s reported NGO-MFIs. NGOs have been engaging with so many different activities for socio-economic development and poverty reduction or eradication programs such as microcredit policies, micro-insurance, sector-wise microcredit plans, foreign remittance, work automations, employment, microfinance in rural & remote area, savings, and other economical programs. During 2016-17, MGO-MFIs distributed loan around Tk. 1,207.538 billion or $4.081 billion, while they issued loan Tk. 1031.39 billion in rural areas which represented about 85.4% of total distributed loan amount. NGO-MFI’s total money circulation amount of 2016-17, is equivalent to about 11.85% of Bangladesh’s current GDP value.
Keywords: Bangladesh, NGOs, Poverty reduction, Rural areas, Socio-economic development.
Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) Codes: L31, O18, & P36.
Purpose
Female smallholder farmers in low-income countries face barriers to accessing capital and commodity markets. While agricultural cooperatives provide services that contribute to the income and productivity of small-scale producers, evidence of cooperatives' social and economic empowerment of female smallholders remains limited. We apply Sen's capability approach to female entrepreneurs' socioeconomic empowerment to examine whether women's participation in a coffee and microfinance cooperative from rural western Uganda benefits their social and economic position within their household. First, we study the relationship between women's cooperative participation and their household coffee sales and savings. Second, we investigate the link between women's cooperative participation and their intra-household decision-making and whether the inclusion of the husband in his wife's cooperative strengthens or lowers women's decision-making power.
Design/methodology/approach
We carry out a case study of a hybrid coffee and microfinance cooperative that promotes social innovation through the integration and empowerment of female smallholders in rural Uganda. Using a cross-sectional survey of 411 married female cooperative members from 26 randomly selected self-help groups of Bukonzo Joint Cooperative and 196 female non-members from the identical area, employing propensity score matching, this paper investigates the benefits of women's participation in a coffee and microfinance cooperative in the Rwenzori Mountains of western Uganda. We present and discuss the results of our case study within an extensive literature on the role of institutions in collective action for women's empowerment.
Findings
Our findings provide new empirical evidence on female smallholders' participation in mixed cooperatives. Our results indicate that women's participation in microfinance-producer cooperatives appears to be a conditional blessing: even though membership is linked to increased women's intra-household decision-making and raised household savings and income from coffee sales, a wife with a husband in the same cooperative self-help group is associated with diminished women's household decision-making power.
Research limitations/implications
The focus of this study is on female coffee smallholders in an agricultural cooperative in rural western Uganda. In particular, we focus on a case study of one major coffee cooperative. Our cross-sectional survey does not allow us to infer causal interpretations. Also, the survey does not include variables that allow us to measure other dimensions of women's empowerment beyond decision-making over household expenditures and women's financial performance related to savings and income from coffee cultivation.
Practical implications
Our empirical results indicate that female smallholders' cooperative membership is associated with higher incomes and coffee sales. However, husband co-participation in their wives' cooperative group diminishes wives' decision-making, which suggests that including husbands and other family members in the same cooperative group may not be perceived as an attractive route to empowerment for female smallholders. For these reasons, an intervention that encourages the cooperation of both spouses and that is sensitive to context-specific gender inequalities, may be more successful at stimulating social change toward household gender equality than interventions that focus on women's autonomous spheres only.
Originality/value
While the literature thus far has focused on microfinance's potential for women's empowerment, evidence on agricultural cooperatives' affecting women's social and economic position is limited. First, our findings provide novel empirical evidence on the empowering effects of women's participation in a self-help group-based coffee cooperative in rural Uganda. Second, our data allows us to explore the role of husbands' participation in their wives' cooperative and SGH. We embed our hypotheses and empirical results in a rich discussion of female entrepreneurship, microfinance and cooperative literature.
The Grameen Bank is a specialized financial institution in Bangladesh that was established to provide credit to the rural poor for the purpose of improving their economic conditions with the hypothesis that if the poor are supplied with working capital they can generate productive self-employment without external assistance. Loans from the Grameen Bank are used primarily for undertaking noncrop activities. The loan repayment performance is excellent. Only 0.5 percent of loans to 975 borrowers surveyed were overdue beyond one year, and overdue weekly installments (before the expiration of the one-year repayment period) were only 3.3 percent of the total amount borrowed. The Grameen Bank concept of credit without collateral should work in other countries with widespread poverty and underemployment. But elements like taking the bank to the people and intensive interaction of bank staff with borrowers may be inappropriate and highly expensive for sparsely settled areas with underdeveloped transport systems. For such environments, an appropriate delivery mechanism has to be worked out.
Women's roles in rural Bangladesh and in the economies of developing countries in general have been poorly documented and researched. This article provides an analysis of women's work using a unique set of data, including detailed information on time allocation, collected in a village in Bangladesh. Women's work is analyzed in the context of the powerful system of male dominance (patriarchy) that operates in the society. Patriarchy is grounded in control of material resources and supported by elements of the kinship, political, and religious systems. Important consequences of the patriarchal system are that women are placed at risk of abrupt declines in economic status; under the pressure of increasing poverty the proportion of women who must fend for themselves is increasing; and women face a labor market that is highly restricted both spatially and functionally, resulting in relatively low wages and high rates of unemployment. The paper documents the division of labor by sex, seasonal variations in labor utilization, and the structure of the female labor market. Implications for fertility behavior, population policy, and employment policy are considered.
Hindus and Muslims of northern South Asia share the belief that women should seclude themselves from men, including some kinsmen, and that men must supervise the conduct of women so that their behavior will not sully men's honor. Considers the traditional social roles of women and of men - and the relations between them - in these regions. Explores in detail differences in purda as practiced by different economic classes, as well as common and distinguishing elements of Hindu and Muslim practice. Also argues that, contrary to outsiders' perceptions, women in fact have much more power than is sometimes evident - power masked by and couched in purda and izzat, which many women aggressively uphold. Women who achieve success in the broader society provide another means of contributing to a family's izzat, which may lead to their acceptance in new roles. -from Publisher
This paper examines ideas about possible ways in which the extent of women's autonomy, women's economic dependency, and other aspects of their position vis-à-vis men influence fertility in Third World populations. Women's position or “status” seems likely to be related to the supply of children because of its links with age at marriage. Women's position may also affect the demand for children and the costs of fertility regulation, though some connections suggested in the literature are implausible. The paper ends with suggestions for future research. Peer Reviewed http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45660/1/11206_2005_Article_BF01124382.pdf
This paper explores several conceptual problems in social demographic studies of the status of women, including failure to recognize the multidimensionality of women's status and its variation across social “locations,” the confounding of gender and class stratification systems, and the confounding of access to resources with their control. Also discussed are some generic problems in the measurement of female status, such as the sensitivity of particular indicators to social context, and the need to select consistent comparisons when judging the extent of gender inequality. Peer Reviewed http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45651/1/11206_2005_Article_BF01115740.pdf
Using participant observation data on worker-client exchanges from Bangladesh, this article examines the interface between a government family planning program and the rural women it serves. Case material focuses first on the program function typically identified in the literature: meeting unmet demand for contraception by providing convenient supply. Functions that have been less recognized are then illustrated: (1) the worker's role in reducing fear of contraceptive technology; (2) her effort to address religious barriers, child mortality risks, and high fertility preferences; and (3) her role in mobilizing male support. The range of functions performed by the female family planning worker in the cases discussed here demonstrates that her role transcends the boundaries of what is conventionally implied by the concept of supply. She acts as an agent of change whose presence helps to shift reproductive decision-making away from passivity, exposing women long secluded by the tradition of purdah to the modern notion of deliberate choice.
This article presents findings of research addressing the question of how women's status affects fertility. The effects on contraceptive use of women's participation in rural credit programs and on their status or level of empowerment were examined. A woman's level of empowerment is defined here as a function of her relative physical mobility, economic security, ability to make various purchases on her own, freedom from domination and violence within her family, political and legal awareness, and participation in public protests and political campaigning. The main finding is that participation in both of the credit programs studied, those of Grameen Bank and Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), is positively associated with women's level of empowerment. A positive effect on contraceptive use is discernible among both participants and nonparticipants in Grameen Bank villages. Participation in BRAC does not appear to affect contraceptive use.
Although violence by men against women in Bangladesh occurs in most cases within the home, in a larger sense it does not originate in the home nor persist only within the home. It is simply one element in a system that subordinates women through social norms that define women's place and guide their conduct. This paper uses ethnographic and structured survey data from a study in rural Bangladesh to explore the relationship between domestic violence against women and their economic and social dependence. It describes some of the common situations in which violence against women occurs in Bangladeshi society, analyzes its larger context, and identifies factors that appear to lessen its incidence in this particular socio-economic setting. The study findings suggest that group-based credit programs can reduce men's violence against women by making women's lives more public. The problem of men's violence against women is deeply rooted, however, and the authors argue that much more extensive interventions will be needed to significantly undermine it.
The Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) is a nongovernmental, rural development institution founded in 1972 and run by Bangladeshis to develop noncraft employment opportunities and participatory associations for poor rural women by organizing them into working groups of 20-25 members. Each group chooses 2 members to receive training in group management and leadership and 1 family planning helper. The group plans and undertakes a series of joint economic activities based on traditional or new skills, and a series of collective social actions. BRAC's field staff is responsible for organizing, each member working with the poor of 5-6 villages. Each group decides its own financial and production plans, with staff consulting on cost effectiveness and feasibility. Seeking to expand women's occupations, BRAC undertook schemes to: 1) commercialize traditional skills by creating new markets; 2) revive and adapt traditional skills to new lines of useful, marketable items; 3) train women in new or non-traditional skills; and 4) mobilize demand for women's labor by lobbing for women's participation in public employment schemes and agriculture. Between 1976 and 1984, BRAC's employment expansion schemes have been able to engage the largest number of women in rice processing (3810), animal husbandry (2344), horticulture (843), and poultry (800). Over 200 women each year have been encouraged to undertake collective agriculturl production on leased land. In 10 years, more than 20,000 women have been organized by BRAC into over 800 active groups, and 10,000 of these women are involved in viable economic activities, leading to an enhanced sense of personal, social, and economic worth and power. Lessons from the BRAC experience are: 1) begin with activities that produce quick, tangible results; 2) organize women into economically homogeneous groups: 3) begin by studying the overall economic situation, traditional skills, resources, markets; 4) build on traditional skills, occupations; 5) establish systems for refresher training and technical and managerial support systems; 6) subsidize the experimental phase; 7) technical expertise may be required from outside resouces; 8) pay in cash on delivery at a piece-rate basis; 9) borrow small amounts of working capital if needed to start project; 10) use group. Guarantee credit schemes.; and 11) place all schemes in the context of broader policies, plans.
Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee: Strategy for the
- D C Korten
Korten, D. C., Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee: Strategy for the 1990s (Boston, MA: Institute for Development Research, 1989).
Beyond the Veil: Male-Female Dynamics in Modem Muslim Society
- F Memissi
Memissi, F., Beyond the Veil: Male-Female Dynamics in Modem Muslim Society (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1987).
Delining and studying empowerment: A research note from Bangladesh, JSI Working Paper No
- M Ahmed
- S M Hashemi
- S R Schuler
Ahmed, M., Nijera Kori in Retrospect: In Search of an Hashemi, S. M., and S. R. Schuler, " Delining and studying empowerment: A research note from Bangladesh, JSI Working Paper No. 3 (Arlington, VA: John Snow Research and Training Institute, 1993).
Consciousness raising efforts of Grameen Bank Grameen Bank Evaluation Project Working Paper No. 3 (Dhaka: Bangladesh Institute of Develop-ment Studies, Agriculture and Rural Development Division
- A Rahman
Rahman, A., " Consciousness raising efforts of Grameen Bank, " Grameen Bank Evaluation Project Working Paper No. 3 (Dhaka: Bangladesh Institute of Develop-ment Studies, Agriculture and Rural Development Division, 1986).
Impact of Grameen Bank on the situation of poor rural women Grameen Bank Evaluation Project Working Paper No
- R I Rahman
Rahman, R. I., " Impact of Grameen Bank on the situation of poor rural women, " Grameen Bank Evaluation Project Working Paper No. 1 (Dhaka: Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies, Agriculture and Rural Development Division, 1986).
To Chase a Miracle: A Study of the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh
- J K Ray
Ray, J. K., To Chase a Miracle: A Study of the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh (Dhaka: The University Press Limited, 1987).
Impact of Grameen Bank operations on the level, composition and distribution of income and expenditure of the rural poor Grameen Bank evaluation Project Working Paper No
- A Rahman
- S Mosherraf
- Hossain
Rahman, A., and S. Mosherraf Hossain, " Impact of Grameen Bank operations on the level, composition and distribution of income and expenditure of the rural poor, " Grameen Bank evaluation Project Working Paper No. 5 (Dhti Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies, Agriculture and Rural Development Division, 1986).
The status of women: A review of its relation-ships to fertility and mortality Paper prepared for the Population Sciences Division of the Rockefeller Foundation (New Yotk The Rockefeller Foundation
- K O Mason
Mason, K. O., 'The status of women: A review of its relation-ships to fertility and mortality, " Paper prepared for the Population Sciences Division of the Rockefeller Foundation (New Yotk The Rockefeller Foundation, 1984).
Managing to Empower: The Grameen Bank's Experience of Poverty Alleviation
- S H Holcombe
Holcombe, S. H., Managing to Empower: The Grameen Bank's Experience of Poverty Alleviation (Dhaka: University Press, Ltd, 1995).
Impact of Grameen Bank operations on the level, composition and distribution of income and expenditure of the rural poor
- Rahman
Consciousness raising efforts of Grameen Bank
- Rahman
Impact of Grameen Bank on the situation of poor rural women
- Rahman
Defining and studying empowerment: A research note from Bangladesh
- Hashemi
The status of women: A review of its relationships to fertility and mortality
- Mason