Hussain A. Samad

Income and employment effects of micro‐credit programmes: Village‐level evidence from Bangladesh

Micro-credit programmes, having made their mark in providing credit and other development services to the poor in a non-traditional way, are able to make significant changes in a rural economy. This article attempts to quantify the village-level impacts of the three most important micro-credit programmes of Bangladesh, namely Grameen Bank, Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), and Bangladesh Rural Development Boards (BRDB) RD-12 project. Descriptive and econometric analyses show that these programmes have positive impacts on income, production, and employment, particularly in the rural non-farm sector. Also, growth in self-employment has been achieved at the expense of wage employment, which implies an increase in rural wages. The article emphasises that an upward shift in the labour demand curve is required for both improved productivity and wage gains on a sustainable basis, which can only be supported through a structural transformation of the rural economy.

Welfare Impacts of Rural Electrification: A Panel Data Analysis from Vietnam

Most past studies on the development impact of rural electrification have relied on cross-sectional surveys comparing households with and without electricity. This study tests the validity of the perceived correlation between welfare outcomes and rural electrification and quantifies electricity’s benefits on the basis of sound econometric techniques that control for endogeneity bias. The study used panel surveys conducted in rural Vietnam in 2002 and 2005, covering some 1,120 households in 41 communes; by 2005, all surveyed communes had connected to the grid, and four-fifths of their households had a connection. The econometric estimations suggest grid electrification’s positive effects on both household income and expenditure and education. We find differential returns to electricity for commune- and household-level connection: the former generates externality benefiting the poor more than the rich, farm more than nonfarm income, and girls over boys for schooling outcome; conversely, the latter benefits the rich more than the poor, nonfarm more than farm income, and boys over girls for schooling outcome. We recommend further study on rural electrification’s long-term benefits for the overall rural economy.

Who benefits most from rural electrification ? evidence in India

This paper applies an econometric analysis to estimate the average and distribution benefits of rural electrification using rich household survey data from India. The results support that rural electrification helps to reduce time allocated to fuelwood collection by household members and increases time allocated to studying by boys and girls. Rural electrification also increases the labor supply of men and women, schooling of boys and girls, and household per capita income and expenditure. Electrification also helps reduce poverty. But the larger share of benefits accrues to wealthier rural households, with poorer ones having more limited use of electricity. The analysis also shows that restricted supply of electricity, due to frequent power outages, negatively affects both household electricity connection and its consumption, thereby reducing the expected benefits of rural electrification.

Dynamic Effects of Microcredit in Bangladesh

This paper uses long panel survey data spanning over 20 years to examine the dynamics of microcredit programs in Bangladesh. With the phenomenal growth of microfinance institutions representing 30 million members with over

Seasonal Migration to Mitigate Income Seasonality: Evidence from Bangladesh

2 billion of annual disbursement over the past two decades, it is important to understand the dynamics of microcredit expansion and its induced impact on household welfare. A dynamic panel model is used to address a number of issues, such as whether credit effects are declining over time, whether market saturation and village diseconomies are taking place, and whether multiple program membership, which is rising as a consequence of microcredit expansion, is harming or benefiting the borrowers. The papers results confirm that microcredit programs have continued to benefit the poor by raising household welfare. The beneficial effects have also remained higher for female than male borrowers. There are diseconomies of scale caused by higher levels of village-level borrowing, especially for male members. Multiple program membership is also growing with competition from microfinance institutions, but this has rather helped raise assets and net worth more than it has contributed to indebtedness.

Energy Access, Efficiency, and Poverty: How Many Households are Energy Poor in Bangladesh?

Abstract In north-west Bangladesh, some 36 per cent of poor households migrate every year during the lean (monga) period to cope with seasonal deprivation. Analysis of household survey data shows that the probability of seasonal migration is high for households with a high dependency ratio, high dependency on wage employment, and in villages with high unemployment; but low in villages with microcredit access. Findings show that seasonal migration helps households to smooth consumption and that non-migrant households who suffer during monga would likely benefit from deciding to migrate. But the cost of migration and lack of networking are potential barriers.

Power and People : The Benefits of Renewable Energy in Nepal

Access to energy, especially modern sources, is a key to any development initiative. Based on cross-section data from a 2004 survey of some 2,300 households in rural Bangladesh, this paper studies the welfare impacts of household energy use, including that of modern energy, and estimates the household minimum energy requirement that could be used as a basis for an energy poverty line. The paper finds that although the use of both traditional (biomass energy burned in conventional stoves) and modern (electricity and kerosene) sources improves household consumption and income, the return on modern sources is 20 to 25 times higher than that on traditional sources. In addition, after comparing alternate measures of the energy poverty line, the paper finds that some 58 percent of rural households in Bangladesh are energy poor, compared with 45 percent that are income poor. The findings suggest that growth in electrification and adoption of efficient cooking stoves for biomass use can lower energy poverty in a climate-friendly way by reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Reducing energy poverty helps reduce income poverty as well.

Seasonal and extreme poverty in Bangladesh: evaluating an ultra-poor microfinance project

A large section of the Nepalese population is deprived of electricity coverage despite huge hydropower potential, particularly in rural areas. About 63 percent of Nepalese households lack access to electricity and depend on oil-based or renewable energy alternatives. The disparity in access is stark, with almost 90 percent of the urban population connected, but less than 30 percent of the rural population. Nepal has about 83,000 MW of economically exploitable resources, but only 650 MW have been developed so far. This study has been designated to organize an evaluation system that measures the impact of micro-hydro installations on rural livelihoods and to establish a monitoring system for Alternative Energy Promotion Center (APEC) to continually measure the results of the results of the renewable energy programs against the targets.

Energy Poverty in Rural and Urban India : Are the Energy Poor Also Income Poor?

Microfinance is often criticized for not adequately addressing seasonality and hard-core poverty. In Bangladesh, a program known as PRIME was introduced in 2006 to address both concerns. Unlike regular microfinance, PRIME introduces a microfinance scheme that offers a flexible repayment schedule and consumption smoothing, as well as production, loans. It targets the ultra-poor, many of whom are also seasonally poor, with a severe inability to smooth consumption during certain months of the year. Besides providing loans, PRIME offers extension and training services. This paper uses a quasi-experimental survey design to evaluate PRIME against regular microfinance programs. The results show that PRIME is more effective than regular microfinance in reaching the ultra-poor, as well as the seasonal poor. PRIME also helps reduce seasonal deprivation and extreme poverty. Although the program has demonstrated its promise, it is too early to conclude whether the accrued benefits are large enough to contain both seasonal and chronic poverty on a sustained basis.

Seasonal hunger and its mitigation in North-West Bangladesh

Energy poverty is a frequently used term among energy specialists, but unfortunately the concept is rather loosely defined. Several existing approaches measure energy poverty by defining an energy poverty line as the minimum quantity of physical energy needed to perform such basic tasks as cooking and lighting. This paper proposes an alternative measure that is based on energy demand. The energy poverty line is defined as the threshold point at which energy consumption begins to rise with increases in household income. This approach was applied to cross-sectional data from a comprehensive 2005 household survey representative of both urban and rural India. The findings suggest that in rural areas some 57 percent of households are energy poor, versus 22 percent that are income poor. For urban areas the energy poverty rate is 28 percent compared with 20 percent that are income poor. Policies to reduce energy poverty would include support for rural electrification, the promotion of more modern cooking fuels, and encouraging greater adoption of improved biomass stoves. A combination of these programs would play a significant role in reducing energy poverty in rural India.