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Swarnajayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojona as a Safety Net: Evidence from Murshidabad District of West Bengal

Author

Listed:
  • MUKHERJEE, ARGHYA KUSUM

    (Assistant Professor in Economics, Srikrishna College, Nadia, West Bengal, India.)

  • KUNDU, AMIT

    (Associate Professor, Department of Economics , Jadavpur University, Kolkata, West Bengal, India)

Abstract

This paper assesses the role of Swarnajayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojona (SGSY), a government sponsored microfinance programme, as a safety net. The initial survey was conducted in 2006 in Murshidabad District of West Bengal, India while the same households were surveyed again in 2008. The results show that the programme is well designed to restrict the decline of transient poor or to uplift the chronic poor from below the poverty line. However, there are serious lacunas in implementing the programme. As a result, the SGSY programme as a safety net has failed to fully deliver anticipated benefits to the programme participants. The picture becomes worse if one measures the targeting efficiency of the programme. It is revealed that the “programme” suffers from both inclusion and exclusion errors. The study, however, suffers from the conventional errors of sampling and the limited time frame may not be adequate to measure the full efficacy of the programme.

Suggested Citation

  • Mukherjee, Arghya Kusum & Kundu, Amit, 2012. "Swarnajayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojona as a Safety Net: Evidence from Murshidabad District of West Bengal," Bangladesh Development Studies, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), vol. 35(1), pages 79-103, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:ris:badest:0534
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Microfinance; Safety net; Social security; Welfare programme;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H53 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Welfare Programs
    • H55 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Social Security and Public Pensions
    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
    • O17 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements

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