Tag Search: “financial inclusion”
What lies behind this year's economics Nobel
In this post, Maitreesh Ghatak discusses how randomised controlled trials – the use of which was pioneered by this year’s economics Nobel Laureates, Banerjee, Duflo, and Kremer – have been successfull...
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Maitreesh Ghatak
25 October, 2019
- Perspectives
Can the microcredit model be improved?
Microcredit is frequently touted as an effective policy tool to fight global poverty. However, studies suggest that the long-term impact on recipients’ lives is limited. In this post, Mushfiq Mobarak ...
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Vikas Dimble
Mushfiq Mobarak
21 August, 2019
- Articles
Closing gender gaps in India: Does increasing women’s access to finance help?
Gender gaps in women’s economic opportunities – in the labour market and in entrepreneurship – have remained high in India. This article analyses the macroeconomic impact of closing gender gaps in acc...
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Purva Khera
16 August, 2019
- Articles
Labelled loans and sanitation investments
Rural Indian households report lack of affordability as the main reason for not having a toilet. This article investigates – through an experiment in rural Maharashtra – whether microcredit labelled f...
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Britta Augsburg
Bet Caeyers
Sara Giunti
Bansi Malde
Susanna Smets
15 May, 2019
- Articles
Measuring the equilibrium impacts of credit: Evidence from India’s 2010 microfinance crisis
In October 2010, the government of Andhra Pradesh issued an emergency ordinance, bringing microfinance activities in the state to a complete halt and causing a nationwide shock to the liquidity of len...
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Emily Breza
Cynthia Kinnan
13 July, 2018
- Articles
Financial inclusion in India: Progress and prospects
Financial inclusion is globally considered as a critical indicator of development and well-being of society. In this post, Srinivasa Rao traces the financial inclusion journey in India so far, and dis...
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K. Srinivasa Rao
11 July, 2018
- Perspectives
The cycle of debt among vendors in India and the Philippines
Many street vendors rely on daily or weekly loans from moneylenders to finance working capital. Given the high interest rates, why do they not use a little bit of each day’s earnings to buy working ca...
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Dean Karlan
Sendhil Mullainathan
Benjamin N. Roth
29 June, 2018
- Articles
Research gaps and policy priorities: Evidence from Bihar
The gap between research and policy priorities has always presented an enormous challenge both for academics and policymakers. With a scarcity of rigorous evidence in certain areas, this gap is partic...
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Kumar Das
09 May, 2018
- IGC Research on India
Informal Insurance under Group Lending with Individual Liability
This study aims to provide empirical support to the hypothesis that informal insurance plays an important role in the context of group lending under individual liability, and to evaluate the impact of...
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Somdutta Basu
Souvik Dutta
Abhirup Sarkar
31 March, 2018
- IGC Research on India
Repayment flexibility, contract choice, and investment decisions among Indian microfinance borrowers
Borrowers’ difficulties to comply with repayment obligations, for entrepreneurial and consumption motives, have pushed several microfinance institutions to introduce some degree of flexibility during ...
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Parul Agarwal
Giacomo De Giorgi
31 March, 2018
- IGC Research on India
Give women credit
Since its inception in the 1970s microfinance has emerged as an important tool to support livelihoods among those who lack access to traditional banking services, though the method has its critics. Er...
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Erica Field
Rohini Pande
24 November, 2017
- Articles
Indoor air pollution and stunting among Indian children
While the conversation on air quality has been focussed largely on outdoor air pollution, millions of deaths occur due to indoor air pollution as well. Based on 2005–2006 National Family Health Survey...
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Anca Balietti
Prateek Mittal
15 November, 2017
- Articles