Abstract There is a growing acknowledgement that micro-credit programs have potential for equitable and sustainable development. However, my anthropological research on the micro-credit program of the Grameen Bank shows that bank workers are expected to increase disbursement of loans among their members and press for high recovery rates to earn profit necessary for economic viability of the institution. To ensure timely repayment in the loan centers bank workers and borrowing peers inflict an intense pressure on women clients. In the study community many borrowers maintain their regular payment schedules through a process of loan recycling that considerably increases the debt-liability on the individual households, increases tension and frustration among household members, produces new forms of dominance over women and increases violence in society.

Micro-credit initiatives for equitable and sustainable development : who pays?; a case study of the Grameen Bank Program in rural Bangladesh

This study examined home environment conditions (housing quality, material resources, formal and informal learning materials) and their relations with the Human Development Index (HDI) in 28 developing countries. Home environment conditions in these countries varied widely. The quality of housing and availability of material resources at home were consistently tied to HDI; the availability of formal and informal learning materials a little less so. Gross domestic product (GDP) tended to show a stronger independent relation with housing quality and material resources than life expectancy and education. Formal learning resources were independently related to the GDP and education indices, and informal learning resources were not independently related to any constituent indices of the overall HDI.

/pdf/housing-quality-and-access-to-material-and-learning-2dul80dj75.pdf

Housing Quality and Access to Material and Learning Resources Within the Home Environment in Developing Countries

Women, especially those who marry as children, experience various forms and degrees of exclusion and discrimination. Early marriage is a harmful traditional practice that continues to affect millions around the world. Though it has declined over the years, it is still pervasive in developing countries. In Ethiopia, Amhara National Regional State (or alternatively Amhara region) hosts the largest share of child-brides in the country. This study aimed at assessing the effects of early marriage on its survivors’ life conditions – specifically, empowerment and household decision-making – in western Amhara. This study employed community-based cross-sectional study design. It adopted mixed method approach – survey, in-depth interview and focus group discussion (FGD) – to collect, analyse and interpret data on early marriage and its effects on household decision-making processes. The survey covered 1278 randomly selected respondents, and 14FGDs and 6 in-depth interviews were conducted. Statistical procedures – frequency distribution, Chi-square, logistic regression – were used to test, compare and establish associations between survey results on women empowerment for two groups of married women based on age at first marriage i.e., below 18 and at/after 18. Narratives and analytical descriptions were integrated to substantiate and/or explain observed quantitative results, or generate contextual themes. This study reported that women married at/after 18 were more involved in household decision-making processes than child-brides. Child-brides were more likely to experience various forms of spousal abuse and violence in married life. The study results illustrated how individual-level changes, mainly driven by age at first marriage, interplay with structural factors to define the changing status and roles of married women in the household and community. Age at first marriage significantly affected empowerment at household level, and women benefited significantly from delaying marriage. Increase in age did not automatically and unilaterally empowered women in marriage, however, since age entails a cultural definition of one’s position in society and its institutions. We recommend further research to focus on the nexus between the household and the social-structural forms that manifest at individual and community levels, and draw insights to promote women’s wellbeing and emancipation.

/pdf/early-marriage-and-women-s-empowerment-the-case-of-child-3c8htbz9wt.pdf

Early marriage and women's empowerment: the case of child-brides in Amhara National Regional State, Ethiopia.

The study scrutinizes the existence of long run association and triangular causality among real GDP per capita, per capita education expenditures and per capita health expenditures in Pakistan. The present study applies Ng - Perron test to investigate stationarity, ARDL bounds testing approach to examine the existence of long run relationship and Granger Causality test for estimating short run, long run and combined short run and long run triangular causality among the variables for the time series data of Pakistan from 1972 - 2009. The present study exposes that there exists long run relationship among real GDP per capita, per capita education expenditures and per capita health expenditures in Pakistan. There exists bidirectional relationship between per capita real GDP and per capita education expenditures in the short run, whereas per capita health expenditures and real GDP per capita do not granger cause each other in short run in Pakistan. Also, there exits bidirectional granger causality among real GDP per capita, per capita education expenditures and per capita health expenditures in long run in Pakistan. The present study also confirms the existence of joint causality among real GDP per capita, per capita education expenditures and per capita health expenditures in both short run and long run in Pakistan.

http://escholar.umt.edu.pk:8080/jspui/bitstream/123456789/562/1/Full%20View.pdf

The Triangular Causality Among Education, Health and Economic Growth: A Time Series Analysis of Pakistan

Caregiver education is known to relate to the growth of children, but possible mediation mechanisms of this association are poorly characterized and generally lack empirical support. We test whether instructional capital (caregiver education) leads to improved infant growth through availability of physical capital (household resources) across a wide swath of low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). Using the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS3), we explore relations among caregiver education, household resources, and infant (M age = .99 years) growth in 117,881 families living in 39 LMIC. Overall, household resources mediated 76% of the small association between caregiver education and infant growth. When disaggregated by countries characterized by low, medium, and high levels of human development (as indexed by average life expectancy, education, and gross domestic product), household resources mediated 48% to 78% of the association between caregiver education and infant growth. Caregiver education had effects on infant growth through household resources in countries characterized by low, medium, and high levels of human development; for girls and boys; and controlling for indexes of infant feeding and health.

Pathways among Caregiver Education, Household Resources, and Infant Growth in 39 Low- and Middle-Income Countries.

This paper examines the impact of child marriage on women’s economic well being using cross sectional data from Bangladesh. Child marriage is a serious social problem in itself but it can also exacerbate the prevalence of domestic violence and undermine the empowerment of women. As such, policy makers are faced with the daunting task of tackling these three issues that are intricately interrelated. This study constructs two separate indices, one for domestic violence and another for economic empowerment, to examine how they are affected by child marriage. Using probit regression models, we obtained parameter estimates that were adjusted for cluster-level correlation and unobserved heterogeneity. Domestic Violence is defined as a dummy variable, which is equal to 1, if the woman has been ever subjected to domestic violence and 0 otherwise. The empirical results show that child marriage, greater age difference between husband and wife, and poverty contribute to an increase in the incidence of domestic violence toward women, whereas both secondary and higher education result in lowering domestic violence. The variable empowerment was constructed based on aggregating a woman’s response to five questions pertaining to women’s participation in household decision-making–(i) who controls the earnings generated by the woman; (ii) who makes decisions regarding healthcare; (iii) who makes decisions on large household purchases; (iv) who makes decisions on small household purchases; and (v) whether a woman is able to visit her family and relatives. The empowerment dummy variable takes the value 1, if the woman had some role in the decision making in at least one of the five categories and 0, if she had no role in household decision making. The results of the study show that women who get married during their adolescent years are subject to increased domestic violence and are less likely to be empowered. Not surprisingly, results also show that higher educated women are more empowered than women who have primary and secondary education. Finally, using data from three microfinance institutions in Bangladesh - Grameen Bank, BRAC, and ASA, the study investigates the role of microfinance with respect to empowerment of women. Findings of the study show that while access to microcredit enhances women’s empowerment in general, this result does not hold for women who underwent child marriage. The results are similar to earlier findings which show that access to microcredit can empower women, however, unlike previous literature, this study finds that credit has no effect on the incidence of domestic violence. The policy implications of the findings of the study underscore the importance of stricter enforcement on the prohibition of child marriage and overall benefit of female higher education.

The Adverse Effect of Child Marriage on Women's Economic Well Being in Bangladesh - Can Microfinance Help?

With the help of cross-sectional data from eighteen developing countries, this paper investigates the impact of two health status indices (Under Five Mortality Rate and Life Expectance at Birth) and four different types of diseases (Tuberculosis, Diarrhea, Malaria, and Hepatitis) on GDP, as well as on the growth rate of GDP. The health status indices are found to have an insignificant impact on economic development. Similarly, two of the diseases, Tuberculosis and Diarrhea, are also found to have an insignificant impact. However, the two other diseases, Malaria and Hepatitis, are found to have a significant negative impact on GDP as well as on the growth rate of GDP. The findings of this paper thus imply that a policy aimed at reducing the incidence of Malaria and Hepatitis will promote economic development in developing countries.

Health status, diseases, and economic development: a cross- country analysis

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The Adverse Effect of Child Marriage on Women's Economic Well Being in Bangladesh - Can Microfinance Help?

Health status, diseases, and economic development: a cross- country analysis