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Microcredit Programme Participation and Household Food Security in Rural Bangladesh

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  • Asadul Islam
  • Chandana Maitra
  • Debayan Pakrashi
  • Russell Smyth

Abstract

We use a large household level panel dataset collected from rural households in Bangladesh to examine the effects of microcredit program participation on household food security. We examine how microcredit affects different measures of food security; namely, household calorie consumption, dietary diversity indicators and anthropometric status of women of reproductive age (15-49 years) and children under the age of five. We find that microcredit program participation increases calorie consumption both at the intensive and extensive margins, but does not improve dietary diversity and only has mixed effects on the anthropometric measures. We also find that the effect of participation on food security may be non-linear in which participation initially has either no effect on food security or may actually worsen it, before improving it in the long run. Our results may explain why short-term evaluation of microcredit might not show any positive effects.
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  • Asadul Islam & Chandana Maitra & Debayan Pakrashi & Russell Smyth, 2016. "Microcredit Programme Participation and Household Food Security in Rural Bangladesh," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 67(2), pages 448-470, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jageco:v:67:y:2016:i:2:p:448-470
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    2. Renata Baborska & Emilio Hernandez & Emiliano Magrini & Cristian Morales-Opazo, 2020. "The impact of financial inclusion on rural food security experience: A perspective from low-and middle-income countries," Review of Development Finance Journal, Chartered Institute of Development Finance, vol. 10(2), pages 1-18.
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    6. Bidisha, Sayema Haque & Khan, Akib & Imran, Khalid & Khondker, Bazlul H. & Suhrawardy, Gazi Mohammad, 2017. "Role of credit in food security and dietary diversity in Bangladesh," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 33-45.
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • I3 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty
    • I14 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Inequality
    • Q18 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agricultural Policy; Food Policy; Animal Welfare Policy

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