IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/amu/wpaper/0208.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Effect of Microfinance on Vulnerability, Poverty and Risk in Low Income Households

Author

Listed:
  • Ranjula Bali Swain
  • Maria Floro

Abstract

Uncertainty and unpredictability faced by low-income households increase their vulnerability making poverty even more unbearable. India’s National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD)-initiated Self-Help Group (SHG) program, which is currently the largest and fastest growing microfinance program in the developing world, has been aggressively promoted as a way of combating poverty. This paper investigates whether or not SHG participation results in reducing poverty and vulnerability. A theoretical framework is developed to examine the mechanisms through which the pecuniary and non-pecuniary effects of the SHG program on the beneficiaries’ earnings and empowerment, influence their households’ ability to manage risk. Going beyond the traditional poverty estimates, we use a vulnerability measure which quantifies the welfare loss associated with poverty as well as different types of risks like aggregate and idiosyncratic risks. Applying this measure to an Indian panel survey data for 2000 and 2003, we find that SHG members have lower vulnerability as compared to a group of non-SHG (control) members. Furthermore, we find that the poverty contributes to about 80 percent of the vulnerability faced by the household followed by aggregate risk.

Suggested Citation

  • Ranjula Bali Swain & Maria Floro, 2008. "Effect of Microfinance on Vulnerability, Poverty and Risk in Low Income Households," Working Papers 2008-02, American University, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:amu:wpaper:0208
    DOI: 10.17606/cw25-5n70
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.17606/cw25-5n70
    File Function: First version, 2008
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.17606/cw25-5n70?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Robert M. Townsend, 1995. "Consumption Insurance: An Evaluation of Risk-Bearing Systems in Low-Income Economies," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 9(3), pages 83-102, Summer.
    2. World Bank, 2000. "India : Reducing Poverty, Accelerating Development," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 15185.
    3. Mark M. Pitt & Shahidur R. Khandker, 1998. "The Impact of Group-Based Credit Programs on Poor Households in Bangladesh: Does the Gender of Participants Matter?," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 106(5), pages 958-996, October.
    4. Rothschild, Michael & Stiglitz, Joseph E., 1970. "Increasing risk: I. A definition," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 2(3), pages 225-243, September.
    5. A. Sandmo, 1970. "The Effect of Uncertainty on Saving Decisions," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 37(3), pages 353-360.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Abdul Ghafar Ismail & Bayu Taufiq Possumah, 2014. "Poverty and social security in Islam," Chapters, in: M. Kabir Hassan & Mervyn K. Lewis (ed.), Handbook on Islam and Economic Life, chapter 22, pages iii-iii, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    2. Waseem Ul Hameed & Muhammad Haseeb & Jawad Iqbal & Leonardus W. W. Mihardjo & Kittisak Jermsittiparsert, 2022. "Environmental disaster and women self‐sustainability—A survey study on microfinance female clientele in Pakistan," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(3), pages 3599-3622, July.
    3. Bali Swain, Ranjula & Floro, Maria, 2010. "Reducing Vulnerability through Microfinance: Evidence from Indian Self Help Group Program," Working Paper Series 2010:23, Uppsala University, Department of Economics.
    4. Wook Sohn & Laila Ume, 2019. "The Impact of Microfinance on Poverty Alleviation: The Case of Pakistan," Journal of Asian Development, Macrothink Institute, vol. 5(3), pages 16-36, November.
    5. Evans Jadotte, 2010. "Vulnerability to Poverty: A Microeconometric Approach and Application to the Republic of Haiti," Working Papers wpdea1004, Department of Applied Economics at Universitat Autonoma of Barcelona.
    6. Ukpe, Offiong Uma & Nweze, Noble Jackson & Arene, Chukwuemeka John, 2016. "Food Insecurity Vulnerability Status Of Farm Households In Niger- Delta, Nigeria," International Journal of Food and Agricultural Economics (IJFAEC), Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University, Department of Economics and Finance, vol. 4(01), pages 1-15, January.
    7. Amit Kundu, 2011. "Effectiveness of Microfinance Under SGSY Scheme to Reduce Poverty and Vulnerability of Rural Households: A Natural Experiment," The IUP Journal of Financial Economics, IUP Publications, vol. 0(3), pages 40-55, September.
    8. B, Ranjula & Wallentin, Fan Yang, 2008. "Economic or Non-Economic Factors – What Empowers Women?," Working Paper Series 2008:11, Uppsala University, Department of Economics.
    9. Koloma, Yaya, 2019. "Microfinance et réduction de la pauvreté selon le genre au Mali : un réexamen des données de 2007-2008 [Microfinance and Poverty Reduction by Gender in Mali: A Review of 2007-2008 data]," MPRA Paper 94745, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. 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.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Nocetti, Diego C., 2013. "The LeChatelier principle for changes in risk," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(6), pages 460-466.
    2. Cary Deck & Harris Schlesinger, 2010. "Exploring Higher Order Risk Effects," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 77(4), pages 1403-1420.
    3. Durmaz, Tunç, 2016. "Precautionary Storage in Electricity Markets," Discussion Papers 2016/5, Norwegian School of Economics, Department of Business and Management Science.
    4. Eeckhoudt, Louis & Schlesinger, Harris, 2008. "Changes in risk and the demand for saving," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(7), pages 1329-1336, October.
    5. Christian Gollier & James Hammitt & Nicolas Treich, 2013. "Risk and choice: A research saga," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 47(2), pages 129-145, October.
    6. Emanuelle Gabillon, 1997. "Marchés incomplets et intermédiation financière," Revue Économique, Programme National Persée, vol. 48(4), pages 805-833.
    7. Dionne, Georges & Harrington, Scott, 2017. "Insurance and Insurance Markets," Working Papers 17-2, HEC Montreal, Canada Research Chair in Risk Management.
    8. Higashi, Youichiro & Hyogo, Kazuya & Takeoka, Norio, 2009. "Subjective random discounting and intertemporal choice," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 144(3), pages 1015-1053, May.
    9. Vergara, Marcos & Bonilla, Claudio A., 2021. "Precautionary saving in mean-variance models and different sources of risk," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 280-289.
    10. Gunhild Berg, 2010. "Evaluating The Impacts Of Microsaving: The Case Of Sewa Bank In India," Journal of Economic Development, Chung-Ang Unviersity, Department of Economics, vol. 35(1), pages 75-96, March.
    11. Miles S. Kimball, 1990. "Precautionary Saving and the Marginal Propensity to Consume," NBER Working Papers 3403, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Irina Georgescu & Jani Kinnunen, 2013. "A risk approach by credibility theory," Fuzzy Information and Engineering, Springer, vol. 5(4), pages 399-416, December.
    13. Liu, Liqun, 2014. "Precautionary saving in the large: nth degree deteriorations in future income," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 169-172.
    14. Kelsall, Claudia & Quaas, Martin F. & Quérou, Nicolas, 2023. "Risk aversion in renewable resource harvesting," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    15. Claudio Bonilla & Marcos Vergara, 2022. "New results on precautionary saving and nonlinear risks," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 136(2), pages 177-189, July.
    16. Alain Chateauneuf & Ghizlane Lakhnati & Eric Langlais, 2005. "On the precautionary motive for savings and prudence, in an EU and a NEU framework," Cahiers de la Maison des Sciences Economiques b05034, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris 1).
    17. Mark Huggett, 2004. "Precautionary Wealth Accumulation," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 71(3), pages 769-781.
    18. Kimball, Miles S, 1993. "Standard Risk Aversion," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 61(3), pages 589-611, May.
    19. Marie-Christine Challier, 1995. "Calendrier du temps de travail et rationnements partiels," Économie et Prévision, Programme National Persée, vol. 119(3), pages 13-30.
    20. Hurley, Terrance M., 2010. "A review of agricultural production risk in the developing world," Working Papers 188476, HarvestChoice.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Microfinance; Vulnerability; Poverty; Risk Coping;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D14 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Saving; Personal Finance
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:amu:wpaper:0208. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Thomas Meal (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.american.edu/cas/economics/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.