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Does credit access lead to expansion of income and multidimensional poverty? A study of rural Assam

Tiken Das (Indian Institute of Public Health, Shillong, India)

International Journal of Social Economics

ISSN: 0306-8293

Article publication date: 11 February 2019

Issue publication date: 11 February 2019

490

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact of credit access on income and multidimensional poverty by providing an econometric framework.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is conducted in Assam, India and uses a quasi-experiment design to gather primary data. Econometric tools like Heckit procedure, Tobit selection equation and probit model are used for empirical purpose.

Findings

The paper finds that the level of individual welfare is influenced by equivalent factors. In addition, the study observes a larger incidence of poverty among treatment households of semiformal and informal borrowers. The study argues that formal sources are more effective in reducing the number of poor households by lifting those who are closest to the poverty line.

Research limitations/implications

The study indicates a vicious circle of income and multidimensional poverty among semiformal and informal borrowers. By tradition, as rural Assam gets a dominant role of traditional community-based financial institutions, we should develop the banking structure by involving these institutions. The study excludes other probable explanatory variables while evaluating the impact of credit access on income and multidimensional poverty, and this limitation is left to future research.

Originality/value

This is probably the first empirical paper in Assam showing the impact of credit access on multidimensional poverty by adjusting for endogeneity and selection bias.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The author of this paper has not made their research data set openly available. Any enquiries regarding the data set can be directed to the corresponding author.

Citation

Das, T. (2019), "Does credit access lead to expansion of income and multidimensional poverty? A study of rural Assam", International Journal of Social Economics, Vol. 46 No. 2, pp. 252-270. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSE-12-2017-0592

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited

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