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Tag Search: “microfinance”

Facilitating risk-sharing through self-help groups in Bihar

While the self-help group (SHG) programme in Bihar has improved access to low-cost credit for women, this article evaluates whether it improves risk-sharing by examining differences in village-level v...

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Pre-election Budget 2023-24: Short on extravagance, long on substance

The Union Budget presented earlier this month was the last full-year budget before next year's general elections. Rajat Kathuria looks back to India's economic performance in 2014 and suggests that th...

  • Perspectives

How financial access impacts women’s decision-making role in households

Government programmes which grant women access to financial support often provide assistance which is too small to significantly impact women’s economic position within the household. This article use...

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Caste-based differences in self-help groups: Evidence from a rural livelihood programme

The National Rural Livelihood Mission aims to increase income and improve wellbeing for rural households. Using survey data from nine states in India, this article analyses the existence of caste-base...

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To invest in sanitation or not? The role of gender differences in perceptions

Although sanitation is essential for health, many households remain without a toilet due to financial constraints. This article describes the extent to which perceptions of costs and benefits of sanit...

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Addressing the economic trade-offs of interlinkages in contemporary agrarian markets

Agrarian markets often see interlinked market transactions – the arhatiya deals with the farmer in both the crop market as a commission agent, and in the credit market as a moneylender. In this post, ...

  • Perspectives

Consumption smoothing and household savings: Role of demographics and durables

Canonical predictions of life-cycle models indicate that households will smooth consumption over their lifetimes. Conversely, empirical data from high-income countries have shown that consumption cont...

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A microfinance model to enhance borrowers’ lifetime utility

Research has shown that providing credit along with services such as savings instruments, can increase the utility that borrowers obtain from credit. Presenting a theoretical model where microfinance ...

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Using contract price to identify ‘right’ clients for flexible microfinance

While repayment flexibility in microfinance helps mitigate the impact of negative income shocks on MSMEs, it might increase default due to borrowers’ time-inconsistent or excessively risky behaviour. ...

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What happens when investments targeting women’s microbusinesses go to men?

Several studies find that male-operated – but not female-operated – microenterprises benefit from access to grants or loans. Applying the lens of household-level rather than individual-level investmen...

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