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Women's Autonomy and Subjective Well-Being: How Gender Norms Shape the Impact of Self-Help Groups in Odisha, India

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  • Thomas de Hoop
  • Luuk van Kempen
  • Rik Linssen
  • Anouka van Eerdewijk

Abstract

This paper presents impact estimates of women's self-help group (SHG) membership on subjective well-being in Odisha, India, using 2008 survey data in a quasi-experimental design. It finds that, while there is evidence of a positive impact of SHG membership on women's autonomy, on average, SHG membership does not affect subjective well-being. However, results also reveal that for members living in communities with relatively conservative gender norms among nonmembers, subjective well-being is notably lower. The authors interpret this finding as evidence that these SHG members feel a loss of identity - a problem that looms larger when women's enhanced autonomy implies a stronger violation of gender norms at the community level. In these communities, social-sanctioning mechanisms contribute to a negative impact of women's SHGs on subjective well-being, as evidenced by qualitative accounts of women's empowerment trajectories in the research area.

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  • Thomas de Hoop & Luuk van Kempen & Rik Linssen & Anouka van Eerdewijk, 2014. "Women's Autonomy and Subjective Well-Being: How Gender Norms Shape the Impact of Self-Help Groups in Odisha, India," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(3), pages 103-135, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:femeco:v:20:y:2014:i:3:p:103-135
    DOI: 10.1080/13545701.2014.893388
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    2. Sutirtha Bandyopadhyay, 2020. "Gendered Well-Being: Cross-Sectional Evidence from Poor Urban Households in India," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 151(1), pages 281-308, August.
    3. Kumar, Neha & Raghunathan, Kalyani & Arrieta, Alejandra & Jilani, Amir & Pandey, Shinjini, 2021. "The power of the collective empowers women: Evidence from self-help groups in India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
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    5. N. Rajagopal, 2020. "Social Impact of Women SHGs: A Study of NHGs of ‘Kudumbashree’ in Kerala," Management and Labour Studies, XLRI Jamshedpur, School of Business Management & Human Resources, vol. 45(3), pages 317-336, August.
    6. Varsha P. S. & Gayathri Reddy K. & Sudheendra Rao L. N. & Amit Kumar, 2019. "Impact of self-help groups, capacity building measures and perceived tension on women empowerment- an empirical study," Asian Journal of Empirical Research, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 9(3), pages 65-87, March.
    7. Samuel Scott & Alejandra Arrieta & Neha Kumar & Purnima Menon & Agnes Quisumbing, 2020. "Multidimensional predictors of common mental disorders among Indian mothers of 6- to 24-month-old children living in disadvantaged rural villages with women’s self-help groups: A cross-sectional analy," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(6), pages 1-15, June.
    8. Hillesland, Marya & Kaaria, Susan & Mane, Erdgin & Alemu, Mihret & Slavchevska, Vanya, 2022. "Does a joint United Nations microfinance ‘plus’ program empower female farmers in rural Ethiopia? Evidence using the pro-WEAI," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    9. Siwach, Garima & Paul, Sohini & de Hoop, Thomas, 2022. "Economies of scale of large-scale international development interventions: Evidence from self-help groups in India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
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