The impact of a microfinance program via self-help group on household income

2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K03823
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Money/ Finance
• Research Institution: Kanazawa Seiryo University
• Principal Investigator: Kimura Masanobu 金沢星稜大学, 経済学部, 教授 (50339983)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): JOSHI Abhay 大東文化大学, 経済学部, 講師 (30587671) ; 西村 めぐみ 共立女子大学, 国際学部, 准教授 (20641286)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2020-03-31
• Keywords: マイクロファイナンス / マイクロクレジット / SHG

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The objective of this research was to determine the impact factors of participation in a microfinance program via a self-help group (SHG) in India on household income, controlling for age, educational attainment, land ownership and household debt. We compare two villages in India where participants joined SHGs at the same time. This research is based on a questionnaire survey administered to people in Aurangabad, Maharashtra state, India, an area　that is considered very dry and is totally dependent on monsoon rainfall. We discovered that the microfinance program has a positive effect on household income, when women participate in it. Moreover, a participant's household income is affected by the decision regarding which
self-help group to join, and the probability of increasing her household income becomes higher if she joins a self-help group that has a close, family-like
atmosphere (with members of the same caste and religion) and a sense that members trust and know each other.

Free Research Field

マクロ経済学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究のマイクロファイナンスとは無担保の少額融資のことで、発展途上国では貧困対策や女性のエンパワーメントの道具として活用されている。しかし、マイクロファイナンスが貧困対策として有効に機能しているか否かという問題については研究者の間で意見が分かれている。本研究では、現地へのアンケートを調査を行い、インドのマハラシュトラ州のNGOが行っている、女性グループ向けのマイクロファイナンスプログラムが貧困対策や女性のエンパワーメントの道具として機能を果たしているのか、実証的に考察したことで、当該分野の実証研究の蓄積に貢献できた。