Impact of microcredit on income,poverty, and economic vulnerability in Peninsular Malaysia

This article examines the effect of Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia's (AIM) microcredit programme on low-income households' income, poverty rate, and vulnerability in Peninsular Malaysia. This study employed a quasi-experimental approach, cross-sectional design, and stratified random sampling method. Findings indicated that participation in AIM's microcredit programme leads to an increase in household income and reduces both the poverty rate and level of economic vulnerability. AIM and policymakers, therefore, should focus on promoting a supportive environment to improve cooperation among participants by designing a dynamic and well-diversified microfinance programme and specialised skills-building training programme.     

Management not models: adaptability,responsiveness, and a few lessons from football

Despite a swathe of critiques of logframes and other blueprint approaches to development over the last 30 years, most aid infrastructure continues to concentrate on the design and subsequent implementation of closed models. This article does not propose an alternative to blueprints, but challenges the inflexibility of their implementation, which is inadequate given the complex nature of social change. It proposes a supplementary management and learning approach which enables implementers to be dynamic, adaptive, and responsive to problems and opportunities. Emphasising the role of donors, the paper presents a case study of one donor-led programme in Bangladesh doing just this.     

Revisiting child sponsorship programmes

Child sponsorship programmes have long been criticised for their conceptual and programmatic flaws. In response, organisations changed their programme designs to minimise negative side effects, or even stopped providing direct support to individual children altogether. This paper outlines the evolution of sponsorship programmes; discusses advantages and drawbacks of today's one-to-one sponsorship methods; and explores how progress may be possible. It concludes that such sponsorship programmes will never amount to sustainable development but can, if designed well, make a credible contribution to complex livelihoods in environments that lack adequate safety nets.

Repenser les programmes de parrainage d'enfants

Les programmes de parrainage d'enfants sont depuis longtemps critiqués pour leurs défauts conceptuels et programmatiques. En réponse à ces critiques, les organisations ont modifié la conception de leurs programmes pour réduire au minimum les effets secondaires négatifs, et ont même parfois complètement cessé d'apporter un soutien direct à des enfants individuels. Cet article décrit dans ses grands traits l’évolution des programmes de parrainage, traite des avantages et des inconvénients des méthodes actuelles de parrainage individuel et examine les manières dont il serait possible de progresser. Il conclut que les programmes de parrainage de ce type ne constitueront jamais des formes de développement durable, mais qu'ils peuvent, à condition d’être bien conçus, apporter une contribution crédible à des moyens de subsistance complexes dans des environnements qui ne sont pas pourvus de filets de sécurité adéquats.

Revisando nuevamente los programas de patrocinio a la niñez

Durante mucho tiempo, los programas de patrocinio a la niñez han sido objeto de críticas debido a sus fallos conceptuales y programáticos. Frente a esta situación, las organizaciones han modificado el diseño de sus programas, con el fin de minimizar sus efectos negativos, o han detenido totalmente el apoyo brindado a niños de manera individual. El presente artículo esboza la evolución experimentada por los programas de patrocinio, a la vez que examina las ventajas y las desventajas de los actuales programas de patrocinio individual, analizando cómo pueden hacerse avances al respecto. La conclusión surgida del artículo establece que estos programas de patrocinio nunca serán parte del desarrollo sustentable aunque, si se diseñan bien, pueden contribuir de forma verosímil a la creación de medios de vida complejos en entornos que carecen de programas sociales adecuados.

Revisitando programas de patrocínio às crianças

Os programas de patrocínio às crianças têm sido há muito tempo criticados por suas falhas conceituais e programáticas. Em resposta, as organizações mudaram seus projetos de programa para minimizar os efeitos colaterais negativos, ou até mesmo deixaram de fornecer em geral apoio direto a crianças individualmente. Este artigo apresenta a evolução de programas de patrocínio; discute as vantagens e desvantagens de métodos atuais de patrocínio individual; e avalia como o progresso pode ser possível. Ele conclui que tais programas de patrocínio nunca atingirão o desenvolvimento sustentável mas, se forem bem elaborados, podem oferecer uma contribuição confiável a meios de subsistência complexos em ambientes que não possuem redes de segurança adequadas.     

Micro-enterprise development initiatives and entrepreneurial competencies,innovativeness, and social capital in Malaysia

This article examines the effect of participation in development programmes designed for women micro-entrepreneurs on the development of entrepreneurial competencies, innovativeness, and social capital. The study employed a cross-sectional design and quasi-experimental approach, and collected data from 417 women micro-entrepreneurs in Malaysia. Findings reveal that the participants possess a significantly higher level of social capital, innovativeness, and entrepreneurial competencies. Development organisations should therefore focus on redesigning their policies and programmes to improve the breadth and depth of the development programmes that they offer, which ultimately lead to an improvement in the social-economic condition of low-income households in Malaysia.     

In the name of ‘underdeveloped’ Adibashi: the politics of NGOs and the Munda in Bangladesh

This paper aims to unpack the politics of NGO activism with the Munda – a minority Adibashi group in Bangladesh. In addition to offering microcredit, NGOs launched educational and awareness building programmes for the Adibashi. Most notably, the Munda are not content to blindly follow the instructions of NGOs – namely, to get educated, find a white-collar job, and develop identity politics – to improve their socio-economic and political positions. Rather, there is growing awareness among the Munda to gather knowledge, which helps them to consciously educate themselves to undertake new activities to improve their condition by interacting with wider society.

Au nom des Adibashis « sous-développés » : les dimensions politiques des ONG et des Mundas au Bangladesh

Cet article cherche à analyser les dimensions politiques de l'activisme des ONG auprès des Mundas – un groupe minoritaire d'Adibashis au Bangladesh. En plus de proposer des microcrédits, les ONG ont lancé des programmes éducatifs et de sensibilisation destinés aux Adibashis. L'aspect le plus remarquable est que les Mundas ne veulent pas suivre aveuglément les instructions des ONG – à savoir suivre une éducation, trouver un emploi dans un bureau et développer des convictions politiques auxquelles s'identifier – afin d'améliorer leur situation socio-économique et politique. Au lieu de cela, on observe une prise de conscience croissante parmi les Mundas qui les pousse à rassembler des connaissances, ce qui les aide à s'éduquer consciemment afin de pouvoir entreprendre de nouvelles activités leur permettant d'améliorer leur condition en entrant en interaction avec la société dans son ensemble.

En nombre de los adibashi “subdesarrollados”: las políticas de las ONG y los munda en Bangladesh

El presente artículo pretende desmenuzar las políticas que sustentan las acciones llevadas a cabo por las ong con los munda –un grupo minoritario de adibashi en Bangladesh. Además de ofrecer esquemas de microcrédito, las ong impulsaron programas educacionales y de concientización para los adibshi. Sin embargo, cabe hacer notar que los munda no se conforman con seguir ciegamente las instrucciones de las ong –centradas en la educación, en encontrar un empleo de “cuello blanco” y en desarrollar políticas de identidad– para mejorar su situación socioeconómica y política. Por el contrario, entre los munda existe una creciente conciencia acerca de la necesidad de acumular conocimientos que les ayuden a educarse conscientemente, lo que les permitirá emprender nuevas actividades que mejoren su situación relacionándose con la sociedad más amplia.

Em nome da comunidade “subdesenvolvida” de Adibashi: as políticas de ONGs e do Munda de Bangladesh

Este artigo visa examinar as políticas do ativismo de ONGs com o Munda – grupo minoritário Adibashi em Bangladesh. Além de oferecer microcrédito, as ONGs lançaram programas educacionais e de conscientização dos Adibashi. Sobretudo, o Munda não está disposto a seguir cegamente as instruções das ONGs – isto é, estudar, encontrar um emprego administrativo e desenvolver políticas de identidade – para melhorar suas posições sócio-econômicas e políticas. Em vez disto, há uma conscientização crescente entre os participantes do Munda para obter conhecimento, que os ajude a ensiná-los conscientemente para que realizem novas atividades para melhorar suas condições através de uma interação com a sociedade mais geral.     

Financial services to the poor: the microfinance dilemma in Andhra Pradesh

In India, microfinance and associated strategies of forming self-help groups came about in response to a newly independent nation and its need to include the rural non-banking population into national structures of development and governance. This article examines how the rapid growth of microfinance institutions during the last two decades – especially in the context of the more recent transition from non-profit to for-profit non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) – has led to a significant increase in the delivery of financial services to the rural poor. In Andhra Pradesh, the simultaneous existence of some of India’s most prominent microfinance institutions (MFIs) and their mobilisation of self-help groups – with state backing and linkages to banks leading to relatively easy availability of funds – has led to a tremendous surge in the availability of credit across the state.     

Microcredit and power: examining how and why women encounter domination in Bangladesh

Using data from a recent ethnographic research project on microcredit, power, and poverty in the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh, this article demonstrates that the relationship of women with both NGOs and male relatives is one of dependency and subordination. Gendered power relations, embedded in NGO practices and socio-cultural gender norms, influence the female borrowers to accept the domination of the fieldworkers and their male relatives. This article examines how and why NGOs create power inequalities between fieldworkers and female borrowers, why the fieldworkers dominate a group of women, and why these women continue to participate in microcredit programmes.     

Global financial crisis and women's micro-lending innovations in Pakistan and Malawi

Microcredit/finance as a tool to eradicate poverty and empower women in developing countries has been a darling of developed countries. The success stories from microcredit borrowers from Bangladesh, India, and Africa, and global endorsement of microcredit programmes have largely ignored local indigenous initiatives managed by groups of women in rural and urban areas. Evidence from fieldwork in Pakistan and Malawi suggests that although systematically recorded history of such indigenous initiatives is lacking, women in these settings would attest that there exists generational knowledge about such small-scale, group-based micro-lending which can be used to enhance livelihoods in rural households.     

The global financial crisis and self-help groups in rural India: are there lessons from their micro savings model?

The global financial crisis is envisaged to have impacted some Southern countries, including India, less severely than most countries in the North. India's expected economic growth of over nine per cent was brought down to just over five per cent. In the aftermath of the crisis, a positive growth figure itself sent optimistic signals. But in a country where nearly 80 per cent of the population – mostly in rural areas – lives on under US$2 a day with a high level of social and economic vulnerability, the effects of the crisis threaten to push many into deprivation. Yet, scattered evidence suggests the emergence of savings-led self-help groups for women amongst the poorest and socially excluded communities to overcome financial vulnerabilities. Grounded in participatory methods, the focal point this is the individual rural woman driving the well-being and the poverty agenda. The paper considers if there are lessons that can be drawn from this micro-level shift for the larger global crisis.

La crise financière mondiale et les groupes d'entraide en Inde rurale : y a-t-il des enseignements à tirer de leurs modèles de micro-épargne ?

On estime que la crise financière mondiale a eu un impact sur certains pays du Sud, y compris l'Inde, moins important que sur les pays de l'hémisphère Nord. La croissance économique prévue de l'Inde de plus de neuf pour cent a été réduite par la crise à juste un peu plus de cinq pour cent. Au lendemain de la crise, un chiffre de croissance positif a lui-même transmis des signaux optimistes. Mais dans un pays où presque 80 pour cent de la population – principalement en milieu rural – vit avec moins de 2 $ US par jour, avec un important degré de vulnérabilités sociales et économiques, les effets de la crise menacent de faire sombrer de nombreuses personnes dans l'indigence. Or, des données éparpillées suggèrent l'apparition de groupes d'entraide axés sur l'épargne pour les femmes parmi les communautés les plus pauvres et les plus socialement exclues pour leur permettre de surmonter leurs vulnérabilités financières. Avec comme socle les méthodes participatives, ces groupes ont comme axe le fait que ce sont les femmes rurales individuelles qui impulsent l'ordre du jour de la qualité de vie et de la pauvreté. Cet article demande s'il y a des enseignements à tirer de cette évolution au niveau micro pour la crise mondiale dans son ensemble.

La crisis financiera mundial y los grupos de autoayuda en la India rural: ¿existen aprendizajes de su modelo de microahorros?

Es comúnmente aceptado que la crisis financiera mundial ha tenido un impacto menos fuerte en algunos de los países del Sur como India que en la mayoría de los países del Norte. El crecimiento económico de más de 9% previsto para India se redujo a un poco más de 5%. El hecho de que tras la crisis la tasa de crecimiento haya sido positiva generó señales optimistas. Aún así, en un país donde casi 80% de la población – la mayoría residente en áreas rurales – vive con menos de usd 2 diarios y con un elevado nivel de vulnerabilidades socioeconómicas, los efectos de la crisis amenazaron con dejar a muchas personas en la penuria. Sin embargo, algunas investigaciones indican el surgimiento de grupos de autoayuda encabezados por mujeres y centrados en el ahorro, cuyo objetivo es enfrentar la vulnerabilidad financiera en las comunidades más pobres y socialmente marginadas. Utilizando métodos participativos, el centro de atención de este estudio es la mujer campesina que está impulsando los esfuerzos para lograr el bienestar y superar la pobreza. El artículo analiza la existencia de aprendizajes derivados de este cambio a nivel micro que pudieran ser aplicados a la crisis mundial más amplia.

A crise financeira global e grupos de auto-ajuda na Índia rural: há lições a serem tiradas de seu modelo de micropoupança?

Considera-se que a crise financeira global tenha tido impacto menos severo em alguns países do hemisfério sul, inclusive a Índia, do que na maioria dos países do hemisfério norte. A previsão de crescimento econômico da Índia de mais de nove por cento foi reduzida para apenas um pouco acima de cinco por cento. Na sequência da crise, um próprio dado positivo de crescimento enviou sinais otimistas. Mas em um país em que quase 80 por cento da população – a maioria em áreas rurais – vivem com menos de US$2 por dia, com um alto nível de vulnerabilidade social e econômica, os efeitos da crise ameaçam deixar muitos em situação de privação. Porém, evidências dispersas sugerem a emergência de grupos de auto-ajuda que visam poupar para que as mulheres que estão entre as comunidades mais pobres e socialmente excluídas superem as vulnerabilidades financeiras. Baseado em métodos participativos, o ponto de enfoque são as mulheres rurais individuais dirigindo a agenda sobre bem-estar e pobreza. O artigo avalia se existem lições que podem ser extraídas desta mudança de nível micro para a crise global mais geral.     

Why work “at home”? Oxfam’s value-added and the UK Poverty Programme

International development NGOs are in existential crisis. Their legitimacy and added value are increasingly challenged. While scholars have focused on legitimacy, work on “value-added” is scarce. In particular, no research addresses the value of domestic programmes to international NGOs. This article rectifies this, focusing on the case of Oxfam GB’s UK Poverty Programme (UKPP). Using empirical research from 35 interviews with Oxfam GB staff, partners and beneficiaries and over 150 archive documents, the article identifies seven assets through which the programme provides value added to Oxfam GB. It highlights the possibility that these could offer insights into the dimensions of future INGOs.     

Women on Wheels: empowering women through an innovative training and employment programme

Significant victories have been won due to the development sector’s engagement with gender inequality as a political project, but regressive shifts have also led to development being conceptualised as a managerial issue rather than as a process of social change. This article uses empirical research conducted in New Delhi, India with an organisation that trains and employs poor urban women as commercial drivers to discuss how an obsession with “cost effectiveness” and “scale” can delegitimise the valuable work of some organisations. This article encourages re-engagement with gender equality as a complicated social issue rather than as a technical-rational management project.     

Sen’s capability approach and microcredit: lessons from a Malaysian case

This article examines a case study from Malaysia, the Credit Union Malaysia, to illustrate how the capability framework and institutions have practical value within the scope of microcredit, and how the constraints that the disadvantaged face can be relaxed through the use of microcredit. The capability approach provides an analytical framework to describe how a microcredit scheme can overcome the problems posed by conversion factors in order to enlarge the space of capabilities available to individuals.     

Evaluation of Dutch support to capacity development

Support for capacity development accounts for about 25 per cent of all international donor assistance. Yet there have been few evaluations to assess the effectiveness of this support. This paper presents the findings and lessons of an evaluation on Dutch support for capacity development that has tried to avoid some of the shortcomings of earlier evaluations. Dutch capacity development support has been effective in a number of cases. However, for sustainable capacity development it is crucial that donors reconsider their policies and practices in such a way that they facilitate endogenous capacity development, local resourcefulness, and downward accountability.

évaluation du soutien néerlandaise au développement des capacités

Le soutien apporté au renforcement des capacités représente environ 25 pour cent du total de l'assistance apportée par les donateurs internationaux. Cependant, peu d’évaluations ont été menées pour estimer l'efficacité de ce soutien. Ce document présente les conclusions et les enseignements d'une évaluation du soutien au renforcement des capacités apporté par les Pays-Bas, évaluation qui s'est efforcée d’éviter les défauts d’évaluations antérieures. Le soutien au renforcement des capacités apporté par les Pays-Bas s'est révélé efficace dans un certain nombre de cas. Cependant, pour parvenir à un renforcement des capacités durable, il est crucial que les donateurs revoient leurs politiques et leurs pratiques afin de faciliter le renforcement endogène des capacités, la ressource locale et la redevabilité descendante.

Evaluación de la ayuda holandesa al desarrollo de capacidades

Aproximadamente 25% de todos los donativos internacionales para la asistencia se destinan al desarrollo de capacidades. Sin embargo, existen pocas evaluaciones que valoren la eficacia de estos apoyos. En este artículo, se presentan los hallazgos y las experiencias obtenidas a partir de la evaluación realizada en torno a un apoyo efectuado por donantes holandeses, que fue destinado al desarrollo de capacidades. Dicho apoyo intentó evitar algunas de las fallas encontradas en evaluaciones anteriores. El apoyo holandés para el desarrollo de capacidades ha sido eficaz en algunos casos. No obstante, para que éste sea sostenible, resulta esencial que los donantes reorienten sus políticas y sus prácticas, de tal forma que se promuevan el desarrollo de capacidades endógenas, la ingeniosidad local y la rendición de cuentas dirigida a la base.

Avaliação sobre o apoio holandês ao desenvolvimento de capacidades

O apoio para o desenvolvimento de capacidades representa cerca de 25 por cento de toda a assistência de doadores internacionais. Porém, poucas avaliações têm sido feitas para analisar a efetividade desse apoio. Este artigo apresenta as conclusões e lições de uma avaliação sobre o apoio holandês ao desenvolvimento de capacidades que tenta evitar algumas das deficiências das avaliações anteriores. O apoio holandês ao desenvolvimento de capacidades tem sido efetivo em vários casos. Porém, para o desenvolvimento de capacidades sustentáveis, é crucial que os doadores reconsiderem suas políticas e práticas de forma que elas promovam o desenvolvimento endógeno de capacidades, as habilidades locais e a prestação de contas em sentido descendente.     

The pedagogy of listening

A great deal of participatory development literature emphasises the bottom-up production of citizen’s voices and their incorporation into policy formulation, implementation, and evaluation. Rarely do we hear of emphases on the question of listening, much as there exists a body of knowledge on integrating what experts consider to be the views and opinions of local people in the creation of socio-economic policies. This viewpoint outlines the kind of listening that builds on three key issues that emanate from Paulo Freire’s idea of listening as both a virtue and practice of tolerance. The major contention is that as development practitioners, we need to build our abilities and capacities to practise all the three forms of listening if we are to work with others in designing and implementing policies that improve lives and communities.     

Reaching the unreached? Good governance and welfare reform politics in Delhi,India

Good governance scholarship has been preoccupied with the donor-driven conditionalities imposed on aid-receiving developing countries. Limited attention has been given to power struggles and resistance from government actors (bureaucrats and politicians) to embrace internally driven good governance programmes. To address this gap, this article ethnographically examines a good governance initiative of the Delhi government (India) to reform its welfare system in partnership with NGOs. The study indicates that the conflict between government and non-governmental actors over the authority to govern the poor eventually maintained the status quo of the welfare system while the poor remain marginalised.     

Challenges of research in rural poverty: lessons from large field surveys

This practical note highlights lessons learnt during the data collection of two large field surveys as part of the ongoing “Sindh Union Council and Economic Strengthening Support” (SUCCESS) programme in southern Pakistan. The experience is discussed in terms of language barriers, the educational status of households, dealing with people’s expectations and non-cooperation, and the weather conditions. The note also highlights the practice of public sharing of data in real-time to improve the design and implementation of future surveys, especially those measuring poverty and quality of life.     

Entrepreneurial traits and micro-enterprise performance: a study among women micro-entrepreneurs in Malaysia

This article reports on a study that examined the effect of key entrepreneurial traits on the performance of micro-enterprises owned and managed by Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM) women micro-entrepreneurs in Malaysia. This study adopted a cross-sectional design and a quantitative approach, and collected data from 407 micro-entrepreneurs. The study findings revealed that an ability to identify and tap into entrepreneurial opportunity is the key entrepreneurial trait that has a significant positive effect on the performance of micro-enterprises. AIM should therefore focus on designing enterprise development training programmes to improve entrepreneurs’ ability to identify and tap into entrepreneurial opportunity.     

Building civil society in Lao PDR: the Decree on Associations

Since 2006, international organisations in Lao PDR have worked closely with local actors in order to foster the creation of an enabling environment for civil society. By conceiving of civil society development as a system involving a number of closely-connected actors and levels, international actors have been able to contribute to both the adoption of a Decree on Associations, which for the first time in Lao history regulates the civil society sector, and to the organisational strengthening of the few existing domestic organisations. This paper evaluates the impact of international actors' initiatives and assesses civil society's prospects for engaging in human rights work.     

A praxis-based global ethical discourse on development and women

This article explores a praxis-based moral approach to the study of development and women. Drawing upon an illustrative case-study of Ankur Kala – a non-governmental organisation devoted to the development of destitute women in Kolkata, India – the article shows how studying actual development practices on the ground generates valuable insights without which our ethical understanding of women's development globally would be incomplete.     

One village one product: evaluations and lessons learnt from OVOP aid projects

The One Village One Product project that originated in Japan's Oita Prefecture is just one component of many official Japanese development assistance projects aiming to promote rural development in more than 30 countries. Not all efforts, however, result in the same level of sustainability. Oita Prefecture built its movement on three principles: local yet global, self-reliance and creativity, and human resources development. The projects that satisfy these principles are generally found to be sustainable. These principles can also be applicable to overseas projects.