Does Microfinance Reduce Poverty in Bangladesh? New Evidence from Household Panel Data

Katsushi S. Imai; Md Shafiul Azam

doi:10.1080/00220388.2012.661853

Does Microfinance Reduce Poverty in Bangladesh? New Evidence from Household Panel Data

Katsushi S. Imai^*, Md Shafiul Azam

^*Corresponding author for this work

Aberystwyth Business School

University of Manchester

Research output: Contribution to journal › Special Issue › peer-review

131 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The study examines whether loans from microfinance institutions (MFI) reduce poverty in Bangladesh drawing upon the nationally representative household panel with four rounds from 1997 to 2004. The effects of general microfinance loans and loans for productive purposes on income, food consumption and women's Body Mass Index are estimated. Overall effects of MFI loans on income and food consumption were positive and the purpose of the loan is important in predicting which household welfare indicator is improved. Alternative estimation methods confirm a positive impact of MFI loans on food consumption growth, which supports the poverty reducing effects of microfinance in Bangladesh.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	633-653
Number of pages	21
Journal	Journal of Development Studies
Volume	48
Issue number	5
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/00220388.2012.661853
Publication status	Published - 2012

Keywords

CAUSAL
PROPENSITY SCORE

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1080/00220388.2012.661853

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title = "Does Microfinance Reduce Poverty in Bangladesh? New Evidence from Household Panel Data",

abstract = "The study examines whether loans from microfinance institutions (MFI) reduce poverty in Bangladesh drawing upon the nationally representative household panel with four rounds from 1997 to 2004. The effects of general microfinance loans and loans for productive purposes on income, food consumption and women's Body Mass Index are estimated. Overall effects of MFI loans on income and food consumption were positive and the purpose of the loan is important in predicting which household welfare indicator is improved. Alternative estimation methods confirm a positive impact of MFI loans on food consumption growth, which supports the poverty reducing effects of microfinance in Bangladesh.",

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AB - The study examines whether loans from microfinance institutions (MFI) reduce poverty in Bangladesh drawing upon the nationally representative household panel with four rounds from 1997 to 2004. The effects of general microfinance loans and loans for productive purposes on income, food consumption and women's Body Mass Index are estimated. Overall effects of MFI loans on income and food consumption were positive and the purpose of the loan is important in predicting which household welfare indicator is improved. Alternative estimation methods confirm a positive impact of MFI loans on food consumption growth, which supports the poverty reducing effects of microfinance in Bangladesh.

KW - CAUSAL

KW - PROPENSITY SCORE

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Does Microfinance Reduce Poverty in Bangladesh? New Evidence from Household Panel Data

Abstract

Keywords

UN SDGs

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