Microcredit - A More Credible Social Than Economic Program In Bangladesh

Microcredit - A More Credible Social Than Economic Program In Bangladesh PDF Author: Rafiqul Molla
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 11

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Book Description
Calculated under the framework of economic-profit counting, the productivity of microcredit in Bangladesh is found very low. In this survey about 48% of the borrowers had to compromise their normal wages for self-employed labor to be able to pay the high interest for the credit. Similarly its social productivity is also found marginal. However, about 90% of the borrowers felt comfortable with microcredit even at so high interest rate seemingly to avoid losing or compromising their social and political empowerment at the hands of the local moneylenders or relatives. Borrowers give high value to their socio-political empowerments and are ready to compromise normal wages for their self-employed labor. In the game of political economy of credit for the poor, microcredit is seen as a means of protecting and enhancing sociopolitical empowerments of the low income and distressed people in the society and is appraised as a credible social than economic institution.

Microcredit - A More Credible Social Than Economic Program In Bangladesh

Microcredit - A More Credible Social Than Economic Program In Bangladesh PDF Author: Rafiqul Molla
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 11

Get Book Here

Book Description
Calculated under the framework of economic-profit counting, the productivity of microcredit in Bangladesh is found very low. In this survey about 48% of the borrowers had to compromise their normal wages for self-employed labor to be able to pay the high interest for the credit. Similarly its social productivity is also found marginal. However, about 90% of the borrowers felt comfortable with microcredit even at so high interest rate seemingly to avoid losing or compromising their social and political empowerment at the hands of the local moneylenders or relatives. Borrowers give high value to their socio-political empowerments and are ready to compromise normal wages for their self-employed labor. In the game of political economy of credit for the poor, microcredit is seen as a means of protecting and enhancing sociopolitical empowerments of the low income and distressed people in the society and is appraised as a credible social than economic institution.

Productivity and Efficiency Challenges of Microcredit Program in Bangladesh

Productivity and Efficiency Challenges of Microcredit Program in Bangladesh PDF Author: Md. Mahmudul Alam
Publisher: Centre for Research and Publication at International Islamic University Chittagong (IIUC)
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 93

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Book Description
There is no denying the fact that microcredit (MC) has been playing an important role in the movement for poverty alleviation. But by the same breath it is also a hard fact that it has serious limitations in terms of its delivery system, rules of repayment, interest rate charges, etc. These limitations made it largely fail to realize its potential and expected goals. A credible study on the productivity of MC was required to determine its actual interest/profit paying capability. In the absence of any established economic justification, based on productivity, this exorbitantly high interest rate is found morally untenable and has become the primary target of criticism for its minimal or marginal achievements. As a result, recently the government rightfully fixed 27% as the maximum interest rate chargeable for microcredit (with effect from July 2011). However, we need not undermine the importance and efforts of the microcredit movement, both as an economic as well as a social institution, for the betterment of the poor in the society. We need not be selfish and miser to give the movement its due credit. MC should not be summarily viewed as unuseful and unsuccessful. It has been making some contributions to the betterment of the poor and it should be given the appreciation it deserves. But like many other researchers we are troubled by the contradicting attitudes of the microcredit providers toward the borrowers. In one hand they are concerned and committed to pull the poor out of poverty, on the other hand they are so harsh in the timely payment of repayment installments putting a blind eye to the sufferings of these poor borrowers. Therefore, MCIs need to be more innovative to be able to serve and take care of the wellbeing of the critical group among the borrowers. We are also puzzled to see that in spite of the exorbitantly high interest rate charges and all other limitations, increasing number of these poor are borrowing credit from these MCIs. This surgical study on the inside view of microcredit in Bangladesh, using a rich data set developed through a survey of 555 sample borrowers from rural, semi-urban, and urban areas of all 7 administrative divisions of Bangladesh, is an effort to address these issues and find answers to these and other questions like its potentiality to become a growth tool in the third sector economy. To our own best assessment this study made three major contributions to microcredit literature: a) application of economic-profit counting method in economic productivity analysis, b) identification of the critically vulnerable group among the borrowers; and c) the revelation that microcredit is respected by the borrowers more as a social than economic institution. To them, microcredit has facilitated their social and political empowerments and safeguarded their social status. An additional feature of this monograph is that it includes a chapter reflecting on the status of Islamic microcredit in the country. We are thankful to the sample micro borrowers for their sincere cooperation and responses in the operation of this research. We are equally thankful to the field investigators for their honest and untiring search for information. We are thankful to Professor Dr. Abu Bakr Rafique Ahmed, Pro Vice-Chancellor of International Islamic University Chittagong, Bangladesh for his most valuable suggestion to include in the book a separate chapter on Islamic microfinance. This chapter has certainly enhanced the focus of the monograph. Lastly we are grateful to Professor Dr. Anisuzzaman Chowdhury of University of Western Sydney, Australia, and Senior Economic Affairs Officer, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations, New York, for writing a thoughtful foreword to this work.

Inside Story of Microcredit in Bangladesh: An Empirical Investigation of the Role and Productivity

Inside Story of Microcredit in Bangladesh: An Empirical Investigation of the Role and Productivity PDF Author: Md. Mahmudul Alam
Publisher: LAP Lambert Academic Publishing
ISBN: 384659251X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 82

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Book Description
There is no denying the fact that microcredit (MC) has been playing an important role in the movement for poverty alleviation. But by the same breath it is also a hard fact that it has serious limitations in terms of its delivery system, rules of repayment, interest rate charges, etc. These limitations made it largely fail to realize its potential and expected goals. A credible study on the productivity of MC was required to determine its actual interest paying capability. In the absence of any established economic justification, based on productivity, this exorbitantly high interest rate is found morally untenable and has become the primary target of criticism for its minimal or marginal achievements. As a result, recently the government rightfully fixed 27% as the maximum interest rate chargeable for microcredit (with effect from July 2011). However, we need not undermine the importance and efforts of the microcredit movement, both as an economic as well as a social institution, for the betterment of the poor in the society. We need not be selfish and miser to give the movement its due credit. MC should not be summarily viewed as unuseful and unsuccessful. It has been making some contributions to the betterment of the poor and it should be given the appreciation it deserves. But like many other researchers we are troubled by the contradicting attitudes of the microcredit providers toward the borrowers. In one hand they are concerned and committed to pull the poor out of poverty, on the other hand they are so harsh in the timely payment of repayment installments putting a blind eye to the sufferings of these poor borrowers. Therefore, MCs need to be more innovative to be able to serve and take care of the wellbeing of the critical group among the borrowers. We are also puzzled to see that in spite of the exorbitantly high interest rate charges and all other limitations, increasing number of these poor are borrowing credit from these MCIs. This surgical study on the inside story of microcredit in Bangladesh, using a rich data set developed through a survey of 555 sample borrowers from rural, semi-urban, and urban areas of all 7 administrative divisions of Bangladesh, is an effort to address these issues and find answers to these and other issues like its potentiality to become a growth tool in the third sector economy. To our own best assessment this study made three major contributions to MC literature: a) application of economic-profit counting method in economic productivity analysis, b) identification of the critically vulnerable group among the borrowers; and c) the revelation that MC is respected by the borrowers more as a social than economic institution. To them, microcredit has facilitated their social and political empowerments and safeguarded their social status. We are thankful to the sample micro borrowers for their sincere cooperation and responses in the operation of this research. We are equally thankful to the field investigators for their honest and untiring search for information. Lastly we are grateful to Professor Anisuzzaman Chowdhury of University of Western Sydney, Australia, and Senior Economic Affairs Officer, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations, New York, for writing a thoughtful foreword to this work.

Inside Productivity of Microcredit in Bangladesh

Inside Productivity of Microcredit in Bangladesh PDF Author: Md. Mahmudul Alam
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 23

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Book Description
Microcredit typically refers to petty collateral-free credits given to groups of poor members in the society for their socioeconomic emancipation. It is claimed to be an effective tool for enhancing income of the poor primarily through creation of self-employment opportunities for them in a variety of small economic activities. However, in this survey of microcredit borrowers in Bangladesh it is found that when self-employed family labor is paid wages at market rate, under the framework of economic-profit counting, economic productivity of credit for about 48 % of the borrowers is not enough to support payment of any interest. Similarly its social productivity in terms of job creation and women"s empowerment at family level is also found to be low and marginal. Even then about 90% of the borrowers prefer taking microcredit from microfinance institutions (MFIs) even at exorbitantly high interest rate, ostensibly to avoid compromising their socio-political rights and potentials at the hands of the local moneylenders or friends and relatives if credits are obtained from them. They see microcredit as a means of socio-political empowerment of the economically weak and underprivileged members of the society. As such they regard it as a more credible social than economic program.

The Micro-politics of Microcredit

The Micro-politics of Microcredit PDF Author: Mohammad Jasim Uddin
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317430867
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 244

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Book Description
Microcredit has been seen in recent decades as having great potential for aiding development in poor developing countries, with Bangladesh being one of the countries which has pioneered microcredit and implemented it most widely. This book, based on extensive original research, explores how microcredit works in practice, and assesses its effectiveness. It discusses how microcredit, usually channelled through women, is often passed to the men of the family, a practice disapproved of by some, but regarded as acceptable by borrowers who have a communal approach to debt, rather than viewing debt as something held by single individuals. The book demonstrates how the rules around microcredit are often seem as irksome by the borrowers, how lenders often charge high rates of interest and work primarily to preserve their institutions, thereby going against the spirit of the microcredit movement, and how borrowers often end up on a downward spiral, deeper and deeper in debt. Overall, the book argues that although microcredit does much good, it also has many drawbacks.

Microcredit and Women's Empowerment

Microcredit and Women's Empowerment PDF Author: Aminul Faraizi
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136868224
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 161

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Book Description
Using a case study of Bangladesh, and based on a long term participatory observation method, this book investigates claims of the success of microcredit, as well as the critiques of it, in the context of women’s empowerment. It confronts the distinction between women’s increasing wealth as a consequence of the success of microcredit programmes and their apparent non-commensurate empowerment, looking at two organisations (the Grameen Bank and the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee) as they operate in two localities in rural Bangladesh, in order to discover how enrichment and empowerment are often confused. The book goes on to establish that the well-publicised success stories of the microcredit programme are blown out of proportion, and that the dynamics of collective responsibility for repayment of loans by a group of women borrowers – usually seen to be a tool for the success of microcredit – is in fact no less repressive than traditional debt collectors. This book makes a contribution to development debates; challenging adherents to more closely specify those conditions under which microcredit does indeed have validity, as well as providing insights relevant to South Asian Studies and Development Studies.

The Scaling-up of Microfinance in Bangladesh

The Scaling-up of Microfinance in Bangladesh PDF Author: Hassan Zaman
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN:
Category : Microfinance
Languages : en
Pages : 24

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Book Description
"The microfinance industry in Bangladesh currently provides access to credit to around 13 million poor households. Zaman describes the factors that led to the scaling-up of micro-credit in Bangladesh, the impact this has had on the poor, future challenges in Bangladesh, and possible lessons for other countries. The consensus in the literature is that micro-credit plays a significant role in reducing household vulnerability to a number of risks and that it contributes to improving social indicators. The author argues that strategic donor investments in a handful of well-managed institutions that offer a simple, easily replicable financial product could lead to large gains in access to finance for the poor. However, this approach could sacrifice other objectives of financial sector development, such as product and institutional diversity, which could be promoted after the initial expansion has taken place. Governments can also have a crucial role in promoting access to microfinance by ensuring macroeconomic stability, enforcing a simple regulatory structure, and developing communications networks that reduce transaction costs. Another lesson is that while visionary leadership cannot simply be franchised, the internal management systems that led to the scaling-up can be replicated in other settings"--Abstract.

Fighting Poverty with Microcredit

Fighting Poverty with Microcredit PDF Author: Shahidur R. Khandker
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN:
Category : Microfinance
Languages : en
Pages : 248

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Book Description
With increasing assistance from the World Bank and other donors, microfinance is emerging as an instrument for reducing poverty and improving the poor's access to financial services in low-income countries. Providing the poor with access to financial services is one of many ways to help increase their incomes and productivity. In many countries, however, traditional financial institutions have failed to provide this service. Microcredit and cooperative programs fill this gap. They provide credit through social mechanisms such as group-based lending to reach the poor and other clients, including women, who lack access to formal financial institutions. Their purpose is to help the poor become self-employed and thus escape poverty. This book examines the experiences of the Grameen Bank, the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee, and the Bangladesh Rural Development Board's Rural Development Project-12 in order to quantify the potential and limitations of microcredit programs as an instrument for reducing poverty and delivering financial services to the poor. A copublication of the World Bank and Oxford University Press.

Banker To The Poor

Banker To The Poor PDF Author: Muhammad Yunus
Publisher: PublicAffairs
ISBN: 1586485466
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 315

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Book Description
The inspirational story of how Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus invented microcredit, founded the Grameen Bank, and transformed the fortunes of millions of poor people around the world. Muhammad Yunus was a professor of economics in Bangladesh, who realized that the most impoverished members of his community were systematically neglected by the banking system -- no one would loan them any money. Yunus conceived of a new form of banking -- microcredit -- that would offer very small loans to the poorest people without collateral, and teach them how to manage and use their loans to create successful small businesses. He founded Grameen Bank based on the belief that credit is a basic human right, not the privilege of a fortunate few, and it now provides $24 billion of micro-loans to more than nine million families. Ninety-seven percent of its clients are women, and repayment rates are over 90 percent. Outside of Bangladesh, micro-lending programs inspired by Grameen have blossomed, and serve hundreds of millions of people around the world. The definitive history of micro-credit direct from the man that conceived of it, Banker to the Poor is the moving story of someone who dreamed of changing the world -- and did.

Microfinance and Women’s Empowerment in Bangladesh

Microfinance and Women’s Empowerment in Bangladesh PDF Author: Faraha Nawaz
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 303013539X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 127

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Book Description
This book examines the effects of policies and practices of microfinance NGOs in empowering rural women in Bangladesh. Nawaz seeks to unpack the untold narratives of women's empowerment and to fill the current knowledge gap in this area. The book goes beyond the narrow minimalist evaluation of microfinance that only focuses on women’s economic empowerment through their ability to access financial resources. Rather, it looks at whether and how microfinance empowers women in a holistic manner across the socio-cultural, psychological and political spheres of life. The author argues that microfinance reduces levels of poverty, which means that women are better able to meet their practical gender needs; however, they are not empowered unless they are also able to meet their strategic gender needs, including the transformation of gender power relations from the household to state arenas. Therefore, the book argues that in order to bring about higher levels of empowerment, microfinance programs must be combined with other services such as financial literacy, socioeconomic training, education, healthcare, social mobilization and legal support. Microfinance and Women’s Empowerment in Bangladesh will be of interest to students and scholars across a range of disciplines, including Gender Studies, Development Studies, and Politics.