The recent past has witnessed phenomenal growth in MFIs around the world. Today as many as 200 million people are beneficiaries of microfinance. Given its worldwide attention, microfinance has received serious criticism, including the argument that it is a fad with less-than-expected benefits for the poor. Surely, microfinance is not without any pitfalls. Yet the premise of improving access to financial services for consumption smoothing by the poor has never been a subject of controversy. What has been controversial is whether microfinance can alleviate poverty. That the poor lack an effective and affordable alternative financing mechanism to support income generation does not necessarily mean microfinance is a panacea since it involves entrepreneurial skills, which many poor lack. It is little wonder that studies evaluating the benefits of microfinance have produced conflicting results. Of course, study findings are contextual: They are positive in conducive environments and less so in unfavorable ones. Microfinance must be distinguished from anti-poverty schemes (e.g., conditional cash transfers) because benefits from microfinance-supported activities, which involve participants’ entrepreneurial skills and ability, take time to realize. This book using household long panel survey of 1991/92-2010/11 from Bangladesh addresses some of criticisms—including whether pushing microfinance has made it redundant as a tool for poverty reduction—while investigating whether it still matters for the poor after two decades of extensive growth. The book’s findings confirm the positive effects of continued borrowing from a microfinance program. Despite a manifold increase in microfinance borrowing, loan recovery has not declined and long-term borrowers are not trapped in poverty or debt. Interest rates charged by MFIs are not too high for realizing returns on investment, although the MFIs have scope for lowering them. The book is expected to contribute to the ongoing debate on the cost-effectiveness of microfinance as a tool for inclusive growth and development. It is expected to fill knowledge gaps in understanding the various virtues of microfinance against its portrayal as having drifted from its original poverty-reduction mission.
The book provides an exhaustive inquiry of Bangladesh s seasonal hunger with special focus on the northwest region where it is more pronounced than in other areas. It also presents an evaluation of several policy interventions launched recently in mitigating seasonality.
For anyone wanting to learn, in practical terms, how to measure, describe, monitor, evaluate, and analyze poverty, this Handbook is the place to start. It is designed to be accessible to people with a university-level background in science or the social sciences. It is an invaluable tool for policy analysts, researchers, college students, and government officials working on policy issues related to poverty and inequality.
World Bank Technical Paper No. 304. Reviews the status and availability in developing countries of photovoltaic (PV) technology and looks at the prospects for using this technology in light of current energy use and costs of other energy sources. The report provides the necessary background information and highlights the questions raised and the calculations that must be made whenever PV applications are being considered in the developing world
Spanish edition (Pobreza, Desigualdad y FormaciÃ[3]n del Capital Humano en América Latina, 1950-2025) Latin America is marked by wide inequality in income and entrenched poverty. This paper argues that the main reason these conditions persist is the lack of adequate education for new generations. The author cites several factors--economic growth and structural transformation of the economy, the convergence of regional per capita income, and the diminishing rates of return on education--that have combined to lower the region's areas of inequality. To bring the region quickly out of poverty, the report recommends that universal basic education be given to all young people in the next two decades. See also the English edition: Stock No. 13630 (ISBN 0-8213-3630-4).
Bangladesh has the world s fastest growing off-grid solar home system coverage, yet only 10% of mainly rural households have so far benefited. A key policy issue is whether the partial subsidy provided under the current program should be continued and this study highlights how the social benefits far exceed the cost of the subsidy.
Public programs are designed to reach certain goals and beneficiaries. Methods to understand whether such programs actually work, as well as the level and nature of impacts on intended beneficiaries, are main themes of this book.
Rural energy s importance to the Bangladesh economy cannot be underestimated, The problems rural people face in obtaining safe, clean, and reliable energy supplies are not minor inconveniences. People are cooking with biomass fuels including large amounts of leaves and grass that expose them harmful indoor air pollution. They light with kerosene or sometimes candles which give off a dim light that hampers studying and reading in the evening. Finally, rural productivity suffers because of lack of access to modern energy. However, the picture also is not all bleak. This study underscores how improved access to rural energy services can created multiple benefits for rural life from income and labor productivity to education and women s health. Recommended or enhancement of programs for improved stoves, rural electrification, renewable energy and greater access to commercial liquid fuels can significantly improve both the rural productivity and enhance the quality of life in rural Bangladesh.
FIAS Occasional Paper No. 6. Examines and compares the recent experiences of a number of developing countries in encouraging backward linkages, the purchasing of goods and services from locally owned suppliers by companies controlled by foreign firms. The authors argue that economic liberalization helps rather than hurts domestic suppliers, that institutional support focusing on upgrading the capabilities of domestic suppliers is critical, and that promotional programs combining public and private resources can accelerate linkage development.
Two of the largest World Bank investment projects in Bangladesh are the general education project and the female secondary scholarship and assistance project. This paper evaluates the expected results of these educational projects using the household and school survey data recently collected in rural Bangladesh. Bangladesh spends only 2 percent of its GNP on education, compared to 3.2 percent in an average low-income country and 6 percent in an average high-income country. Low investment in education results in low literacy (only 35 percent), which in turn results in low productivity, low incomes, poor health, and, above all, high population growth. To counter these trends, Bangladesh has invested substantially in the education sector in recent years, with the help of the World Bank and other donor agencies. The objective of this investment has been to improve both the quality and quantity of education, especially among the female population. The general education and female secondary school assistance projects are, in particular, geared to promote better access to primary and secondary education, as well as higher school participation and educational attainment. Based on the rural household and school survey data on both supply and demand factors, this report concludes that school interventions such as more and better schools, better trained and educated teachers, more female teachers, and better water and sanitation facilities in schools promote literacy and improve school participation and school attainment rates. Independent of school-level interventions, complementary investments in village infrastructure (roads and electricity) also have beneficial effects on educational outcomes. The effects of all these interventions are more pronounced for girls than for boys. Contains 28 data tables and figures. (Author/TD)
World Bank Discussion Paper No. 347. Describes the elements of health reform in Sierra Leone as the West African nation attempts to overhaul its health system and focus it on the neediest populations. To highlight the role of key stakeholders, the study reviews the actions proposed and taken for reforming a package of health services, organizing the provision of those services, and financing the health sector. The paper also identifies factors critical for success and concludes with an assessment of future prospects for reform of this crucial sector.
World Bank Technical Paper No. 295. The progress made by the countries of Central and Eastern Europe in privatizing state-owned enterprises has created millions of new shareholders. But for the citizenry to buy and sell shares, these countries must develop stock markets and related institutions such as brokerages, clearing and settling organizations, and regulatory agencies. This paper examines the role of capital markets in the new market economies of Central and Eastern Europe and to what extent governments in the region should encourage the development of such markets. The authors address questions of whether the capital markets will serve merely as a forum for trading stocks or become a source of new equity capital to help restructure the enterprises of the region and whether governments should take a hands-off approach by letting the necessary institutions develop as they are needed or should actively create stock exchanges and establish the overall legal and regulatory framework.
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