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Can Women’s Self-help Groups Contribute to Sustainable Development? Evidence of Capability Changes from Northern India

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  • Paul Anand
  • Swati Saxena
  • Rolando Gonzales Martinez
  • Hai-Anh H. Dang

Abstract

This paper offers an evaluation of a supported women’s self-help programme with over 1.5 million participants in one of the poorest rural regions of the world (Uttar Pradesh, India). Methodologically, it shows how indicators from the direct capability measurement literature can be adapted for programme evaluation in a low-income country setting. Unique data on capabilities across a range of dimensions are then developed for some 6000 women and used to estimate a number of propensity score matching models. The substantive empirical results of these models indicate that many of the capability indicators are higher for programme members, that the difference appears robust, and that there are significant benefits for those from scheduled tribes and lower castes. The discussion highlights two points. First, human development improvements offered by multi-strand programmes can help to explain the paradox as to why nearly 100 million women (in India alone) have participated in self-help programmes despite modest global research evidence for micro-finance impacts on nominal incomes. Second, results argue strongly for the use of capability measures over agency measures focused solely on household decision-making to assess women’s empowerment when structural causes of disempowerment, external to the household, are present and significant.

Suggested Citation

  • Paul Anand & Swati Saxena & Rolando Gonzales Martinez & Hai-Anh H. Dang, 2020. "Can Women’s Self-help Groups Contribute to Sustainable Development? Evidence of Capability Changes from Northern India," Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(2), pages 137-160, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:jhudca:v:21:y:2020:i:2:p:137-160
    DOI: 10.1080/19452829.2020.1742100
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    Cited by:

    1. Wandicleia Lopes Sousa & Thiago Almeida Vieira, 2022. "An Amazonian lake and the quality of life of its women: the case of Maicá, Santarém, Brazil (2018)," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(1), pages 1428-1444, January.
    2. Khalid, Nazar & Behrman, Jere R. & Hannum, Emily & Thapa, Amrit, 2025. "Floods, community infrastructure, and children’s heterogeneous learning losses in rural India," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    3. Sekhon, Sumeet & Grant, Miriam, 2021. "Patterns of loan use for women’s self-help groups in rural Rajasthan," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 24(C).
    4. Melinda Schmidt & Harald Strotmann & Jürgen Volkert, 2022. "Female and Male Community-Level Empowerment: Capability Approach-Based Findings for Rural India," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 34(2), pages 754-784, April.
    5. Livia Bartolomei & Genowefa Blundo-Canto & Pasquale De Muro, 2024. "How is the Capability Approach Applied to Assess Well-being Impacts? A Systematic Review," Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(3), pages 367-399, July.
    6. Advera Gibe ROCHE & John N. JECKONIAH & Fatihiya A. MASSAWE, 2023. "Gendered Factors And Small-Scale Fish Business Growth In Mwanza, Tanzania," Business Excellence and Management, Faculty of Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 13(2), pages 80-96, June.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being
    • I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty
    • O35 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Social Innovation

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