The impact of micro-credit on poverty: Evidence from Bangladesh

Citation

Chowdhury MJA, Ghosh D & Wright RE (2005) The impact of micro-credit on poverty: Evidence from Bangladesh. Progress in Development Studies, 5 (4), pp. 298-309. https://doi.org/10.1191/1464993405ps116oa

Abstract
This paper examines empirically the impact of micro-credit on poverty in Bangladesh. Unlike previous studies, the focus is on both objective and subjective poverty and particular attention is paid to the length of time programme participants have had access to micro-credit. A household-level survey (N = 954) was carried out, collecting information about micro-credit recipients from Grameen Bank, the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee and the Association of Social Advancement. Our two main findings are, first, micro-credit is associated with both lower objective and subjective poverty and, secondly, the impact of micro-credit on poverty is particularly strong for about six years with some levelling off after that point.

Keywords
Asia; Bangladesh; Duration; Micro-credit; Objective Poverty; Subjective Poverty; Commercial credit Bangladesh; Poverty Bangladesh

Journal
Progress in Development Studies: Volume 5, Issue 4