Microfinance and Poverty : Evidence using Panel Data from Bangladesh

• Tác giả: Shahidur R Khandker
• Ngôn ngữ: eng
• Ký hiệu phân loại: 641.59 Cooking characteristic of specific geographic environments, ethnic cooking
• Thông tin xuất bản: Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the World Bank, 2014
• Bộ sưu tập: Tài liệu truy cập mở
• ID: 319056
• Chủ đề: 1. ACCOUNTING; 2. AGGREGATE POVERTY; 3. AMOUNT OF CREDIT; 4. ANTIPOVERTY PROGRAMS; 5. ASSET BUILDING

Tóm tắt

Microfinance supports mainly informal activities that often have a low return and low market demand. It may therefore be hypothesized that the aggregate poverty impact of microfinance is modest or even nonexistent. If true, the poverty impact of microfinance observed at the participant level represents either income redistribution or short run income generation from the microfinance intervention. This article examines the effects of microfinance on poverty reduction at both the participant and the aggregate levels using panel data from Bangladesh. The results suggest that access to microfinance contributes to poverty reduction, especially for female participants, and to overall poverty reduction at the village level. Microfinance thus helps not only poor participants but also the local economy.