|
|
Research Report 120
Group-Based Financial Institutions for the Rural Poor in Bangladesh
An Institutional- and Household-Level Analysis |
 |
Manfred Zeller, Manohar Sharma, Akhter U. Ahmed, and Shahidur Rashid
2001 |
|
|
ABOUT THIS REPORT
In the last two decades, nongovernmental organizations in Bangladesh have provided millions of poor rural people with savings and credit services at low cost. These services have reduced poverty and may have improved food security and nutrition and achieved positive social change as well. The relative success of these microfinance institutions merits an in-depth examination of their structure, conduct, and performance and the role they play in reducing poverty. This report analyzes the fit between the rural poor and three key NGOs that represent the variety of microfinance institutions in Bangladesh. The report evaluates the effects of microfinance credit programs on household resource allocation, income generation, food and non-food consumption, and the social attitudes and capacities of members. It suggests that microfinance institutions should be expanded, but with careful attention to cost and financial sustainability.
This report will be of interest to professionals involved in credit, food security, nutrition, food policy, rural development, and social change. |
|
|
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Manfred Zeller is a professor at the University of Göttingen, Germany, and director of the Institute of Rural Development. He works on assessment of the impact of agricultural, food, and rural development policies; strategies to promote pro-poor agribusiness and microenterprises; and spatial econometric models of land-use change and deforestation. A research fellow at IFPRI until 1999, Zeller received his Ph.D.in agricultural economics from the University of Bonn.
Manohar Sharma, a research fellow in IFPRI ’s Food Consumption and Nutrition Division, works on microfinance and social safety net issues and the assessment and monitoring of poverty in developing countries. Sharma holds a Ph.D. in agricultural economics from Cornell University.
Akhter U. Ahmed is a senior research fellow in IFPRI ’s Food Consumption and Nutrition Division. He works on restructuring social safety net programs to improve the food security and nutrition of the poor and on poverty monitoring in developing countries. Ahmed received a Ph.D. in agricultural economics from Colorado State University.
Shahidur Rashid is a postdocotoral fellow in IFPRI ’s Markets and Structural Studies Division. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Illinois.
|
|
|
DOWNLOAD
Abstract
Full Report
NOTE: Part of Chapter 2 was published as "Placement and outreach of group-based credit organizations: the cases of ASA, BRAC, and PROSHIKA in Bangladesh," World Development 27(12): 2123-2136. Reprinted with the permission of Elsevier. Part of Chapter 3 was published as "Repayment performance in group-based credit programs in Bangladesh: an empirical analysis. World Development 25(10): 1731-1742. Reprinted with the permission of Elsevier.
- Table of Contents, Tables, Figures, Foreword, Acknowledgements, and Summary
- Chapter 1: Introduction
- Chapter 2: Determinants of the Placement and Outreach of Group-Based Financial Institutions: A County-Level Analysis
Part of this chapter was published as "Placement and outreach of group-based credit organizations: the cases of ASA, BRAC, and PROSHIKA in Bangladesh," World Development 27(12): 2123-2136. Reprinted with the permission of Elsevier.
- Chapter 3: Group-Based Financial Institutions: Structure, Conduct, and Performance
Part of this chapter was published as "Repayment performance in group-based credit programs in Bangladesh: an empirical analysis. World Development 25(10): 1731-1742. Reprinted with the permission of Elsevier.
- Chapter 4: Household Participation in Financial Markets
- Chapter 5: Analysis of the Household-Level Impact of Group-Based Credit Institutions in Bangladesh
- Chapter 6: Conclusions and Implications for Policy
- Appendix A: Survey Modules, Sampling Frame, and Location of Survey Sites
- Appendix B: Adult Equivalent Consumption Units Differentiated by Age and Gender
- References
|
|
|
|
|