Microfinance Participation and Women's Empowerment: Evidence from a Nationally Representative Sample of Women in Bangladesh

ABSTRACT

More than 30 million married women in Bangladesh access microfinance, an empowering anti-poverty tool, amidst mixed responses from scholars about microfinance's empowering effect. The present study evaluates whether microfinance participation empowers women using a culturally suitable conceptualization of empowerment constituting autonomy, decision-making power in the household, and justification of partner violence. This study utilizes data from a representative probability sub-sample of 6,150 married women aged between 15 and 49 years from the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey 2011 to assess the difference in empowerment between microfinance participants and a control group using propensity score matching techniques. Findings revealed that women who participated in microfinance were not statistically different at the 0.05 level from women who did not participate in microfinance in terms of empowerment when groups were matched on socio-demographic variables ensuring that treatment and comparison groups had equal propensity to participate in microfinance, casting doubt on the assertion that microfinance participation positively affects women's empowerment. Future research needs to focus on what empowerment may mean in relation to the outside world; we need to move beyond a familial understanding of empowerment to examine the individual in terms of her individual identity in the socio-political world in which she resides.     

Efficiency of Microfinance Institutions in the Mediterranean: An Application of DEA

By applying the non-parametric Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method, even with all the limitations where error could cause significant problems, this paper attempts to investigate the efficiency of 35 Microfinance institutions in the Mediterranean zone during the period of 2004–2005. The estimated results prove that eight institutions are relatively efficient, and have a notable level of average efficiency and a potential of evolution while being referent to their technical efficiency. The survey also reveals that the size of the MFIs has a negative effect on their efficiency since the MFIs of medium size are more efficient than the eminent.

我国农村小额信贷模式研究——基于成本—收益的数理分析

应用成本—收益分析方法研究了现有信贷模式下农村信贷市场存在的道德风险和逆向选择问题,进一步分析了小额信贷"格莱珉模式"的特点,给出了构建中国农村小额信贷模式的思路:一是建立农户信息系统、进行农户信贷信用评级,二是农户自愿组建小组、实行农户分组信贷,三是调整贷款结构、增加农户贷款收益。     

农户异质性与团体贷款发展趋势研究——以苏北地区农信社为例

团体贷款机制是小额信贷在国际范围内取得成功的重要原因之一,但是近年来国际上包括最早使用团体贷款机制的孟加拉乡村银行在内的很多小额信贷机构逐步放弃了这种机制,转而采用个人贷款机制。本文以苏北地区农信社的团体贷款为例进行分析,结果表明中国的农村金融机构在实践中也逐步减少使用团体贷款,转而使用个人贷款,同时这种变化趋势在地区间存在明显的差异。实证模型对这种变化趋势的解释为:经济水平的发展使小组成员的经济活动出现异质性,成员之间的借贷需求出现分化,导致金融机构将贷款方式从团体贷款向个人贷款转变。     

民族贫困地区农信社推行农户小额信贷的实证分析

民族贫困地区大力推广以农村信用社为主体,以农户小额信贷为手段的扶贫资金的投入方式对于提高当地农民收入和优化当地农业产业结构意义重大。本文通过实地调研,总结了武陵山区恩施土家族苗族自治州农村信用社开展农户小额信贷的基本做法和成效,指出了目前存在的主要问题并对其原因进行了分析,然后在此基础上对民族贫困地区农信社进一步发展农户小额信贷提出了一些对策建议。     

A Structural Evaluation of a Large‐Scale Quasi‐Experimental Microfinance Initiative

This paper uses a structural model to understand, predict, and evaluate the impact of an exogenous microcredit intervention program, the Thai Million Baht Village Fund program. We model household decisions in the face of borrowing constraints, income uncertainty, and high‐yield indivisible investment opportunities. After estimation of parameters using preprogram data, we evaluate the model's ability to predict and interpret the impact of the village fund intervention. Simulations from the model mirror the data in yielding a greater increase in consumption than credit, which is interpreted as evidence of credit constraints. A cost–benefit analysis using the model indicates that some households value the program much more than its per household cost, but overall the program costs 30 percent more than the sum of these benefits.     

A Comparative Analysis of the Use of Microfinance and Formal and Informal Credit by Farmers in Less Developed Areas of Rural China

Based on household survey data, this article shows that farmers' demand for credit in poor areas of rural China has increased significantly in recent years, and credits from various sources are used differently in production and consumption. For example, microfinance is used primarily in livestock and non‐agricultural investments, formal credit is often used in crop production, and informal credit is largely used to meet farmers' consumption requirements. Developing a complementary system with various financial channels in rural China, particularly for non‐governmental microfinance, is crucial for meeting farmers' rising demand for credit in both production and consumption.     

Inclusive Financial Markets: Is Transformation Under Way in Kenya?

Policy emphasis on financial‐sector development has shifted away from microfinance and towards the development of ‘inclusive financial markets’. But, for inclusion to take place, policy must address barriers to access. This article analyses the socio‐economic, demographic and geographical factors associated with financial‐service use across formal, semi‐formal and informal financial services in Kenya between 2006 and 2009, including the new and rapidly growing mobile‐phone‐based payments service – M‐PESA. It finds that, despite an expansion of services, evidence of access barriers is now clearer than it was in 2006. However, there is some evidence that M‐PESA is reversing age as a barrier to inclusion, but, as yet, it is more of a complement than a substitute for formal services.     

小额贷款公司运行中的政策环境与制度完善——基于对浙江省小额贷款公司设立、运行现状的调查、分析

浙江实践表明,小额贷款公司有其特定的存设价值与发展空间,但目前对小额贷款公司的政策环境与制度供给仍存在问题,制约着小额贷款公司的后续发展。这些问题主要包括小额贷款公司身份定位与业务定位、小额贷款公司设立与运行的法律体系与监管体系,小额贷款公司成长中的政策扶持等,针对制度供给缺陷现状,需要从外部制度和内部环境入手,实施必要的政策指引、立法完善与制度变革,以实现小额贷款公司的可持续发展。     

伊斯兰文化的金融约束与微型金融发展

本文利用文化维度理论,剖析了伊斯兰地区的人文特征,深入研究了伊斯兰文化的金融约束及当地微型金融服务的现实需求与人文嵌入方式。伊斯兰文化具有权利差距小、不确定性规避强、集体主义、阴柔气质以及长期取向等五大特征;伊斯兰文化对微型金融服务具有强力的约束效应,不但反对高利贷和利率,而且强调借贷双方的道德准则;伊斯兰微型金融服务通过成本加融资、利润共享及慈善贷款三种方式融入伊斯兰社区,因展现出形式灵活、运作高效等优越性而普受欢迎;微型金融服务与社区人文环境的有效交融是伊斯兰微型金融取得成功的关键之处。