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Inside Productivity of Microcredit in Bangladesh: A surgical Analysis

Author

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  • Alam, Md. Mahmudul

    (Universiti Utara Malaysia)

  • Molla, Rafiqul Islam

Abstract

Microcredit typically refers to petty collateral-free credits given to groups of poor members in the society for their socioeconomic emancipation. It is claimed to be an effective tool for enhancing income of the poor primarily through creation of self-employment opportunities for them in a variety of small economic activities. However, in this survey of microcredit borrowers in Bangladesh it is found that when self-employed family labor is paid wages at market rate, under the framework of economic-profit counting, economic productivity of credit for about 48 % of the borrowers is not enough to support payment of any interest. Similarly its social productivity in terms of job creation and women‟s empowerment at family level is also found to be low and marginal. Even then about 90% of the borrowers prefer taking microcredit from microfinance institutions (MFIs) even at exorbitantly high interest rate, ostensibly to avoid compromising their socio-political rights and potentials at the hands of the local moneylenders or friends and relatives if credits are obtained from them. They see microcredit as a means of socio-political empowerment of the economically weak and underprivileged members of the society. As such they regard it as a more credible social than economic program

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  • Alam, Md. Mahmudul & Molla, Rafiqul Islam, 2019. "Inside Productivity of Microcredit in Bangladesh: A surgical Analysis," OSF Preprints ehqfm, Center for Open Science.
    • Handle: RePEc:osf:osfxxx:ehqfm
    DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/ehqfm
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    1. Rafiqul Islam Molla & Md. Mahmudul Alam, 2011. "Microcredit - A More Credible Social than Economic Program in Bangladesh," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 31(2), pages 1095-1104.
    2. Goetz, Anne Marie & Gupta, Rina Sen, 1996. "Who takes the credit? Gender, power, and control over loan use in rural credit programs in Bangladesh," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 45-63, January.
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    1. Kamaluddin, Amrizah & Hadi, Nabawiyah Abdul & Alam, Md. Mahmudul & Adil, Mohamed Azam Mohamed, 2019. "Social Collateral Model for Islamic Microfinance," SocArXiv ya8ft, Center for Open Science.

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