Seiro Ito

How Does Credit Access Affect Children's Time Allocation?: Evidence from Rural India

Abstract Using a unique dataset obtained from rural Andhra Pradesh, India that contains direct observations of household access to credit and detailed time use, results of this study indicate that credit market failures result in a substantial reallocation of time use pattern by children, leading to a significant increase in remunerative work and a similarly significant decrease in leisure time. While the direct impact on schooling time per se does not appear to be large, longer work and shorter leisure could arguably constrain effective learning opportunities of children, hampering human capital formation.

How does contract design affect the uptake of microcredit among the ultra-poor?: experimental evidence from the river islands of Northern Bangladesh

Abstract This study examines the demand of microcredit among ultra-poor households in northern Bangladesh. We implemented a field experiment to identify what type of credit is best suited to their demand. We found that the uptake rate by the ultra-poor is the lowest for regular small cash credit, followed by in-kind credit. We also found that the ultra-poor are significantly more likely to join a microcredit programme than the moderately poor if a grace period with longer maturity is attached to a large amount of credit, irrespective of whether the credit is provided in cash or in kind.

Publicly Provided Primary Healthcare Services in Rural India: Achievements, Problems and Possible Solutions

The recent decades of poverty research have convincingly shown the value of a well-functioning health system in the development process. One of the ways in which poverty manifests itself is in the vicious cycle of ill-health and low income. Many studies have documented how temporary shocks to people’s health can have long-lasting effects on their welfare when healthcare is not available at affordable costs. Acknowledging this, more emphasis is now being placed on health outcomes as a primary policy goal across the developing world. The Millennium Development Goals notwithstanding, the Government of India (GOI) has always been a keen advocate of achieving good health among the general public.