Why Micro-Credit May Leave Women Worse Off: Non-Cooperative Bargaining and the Marriage Game in South Asia

Journal of Development Studies

Volumn 49, Issue 5, 2013, Pages 609-623

  Balasubramanian, Sujata ^a  

^a HONG KONG UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY   (Hong Kong)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

BARGAINING; CREDIT PROVISION; GAME THEORY; INCOME; MICROENTERPRISE; WOMENS STATUS;

SOUTH ASIA;

EID: 84878578335     PISSN: 00220388     EISSN: 17439140     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/00220388.2012.709618     Document Type: Article

References (44)

1. Ackerly, B. A. 1995. Testing the tools of development: credit programmes, loan involvement, and women's empowerment. IDS Bulletin, 26 (3): 56 - 68.
2. Agarwal, B. 1994. A Field of One's Own: Gender and Land Rights in South Asia, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
3. Agarwal, B. and Panda, P. 2007. Toward freedom from domestic violence: the neglected obvious. Journal of Human Development, 8 (3): 359 - 388.
4. Amato, P. R. 1994. The impact of divorce on men and women in india and the United States. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 25 (2): 207 - 221.
5. Anderson, S. 2007. The economics of dowry and brideprice. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 21 (4): 151 - 174.
6. Bali Swain, R. 2007. Can microfinance empower women? Self-help groups in India. Dialogue, 37: 61 - 81.
7. Chen, M. A. 2000. Perpetual Mourning: Widowhood in Rural India, New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
8. Chowdhury, M. J.A., Ghosh, D. and Wright, R. E. 2005. The impact of micro-credit on poverty: evidence from Bangladesh. Progress in Development Studies, 5 (4): 298 - 309.
9. Cochard, F., Couprie, H. and Hopfensitz, A. Do spouses cooperate? And if not: why?. TSE Working Paper Series 09-134. France: Toulouse School of Economics.
10. Coomaraswamy, R. The varied contours of violence against women in South Asia. Paper presented at the Fifth South Asia Regional Ministerial Conference. Islamabad, Pakistan.
11. Fehr, E. and Schmidt, K. M. 2006. " The economics of fairness, reciprocity and altruism - experimental evidence and new theories ". In Handbook of the Economics of Giving, Altruism and Reciprocity, Volume 1, Edited by: Kolm, S. and Ythier, J. M. 615 - 684. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
12. Garikipati, S. 2008. The impact of lending to women on household vulnerability and women's empowerment: evidence from India. World Development, 36 (12): 2620 - 2642.
13. Garikipati, S. 2010. " Microcredit and women's empowerment: understanding the 'impact paradox' with particular reference to South India ". In The International Handbook of Gender and Poverty: Concepts, Research, Policy, Edited by: Chant, S. 599 - 605. Cheltenham: Northampton: Edward Elgar.
14. Goetz, A. M. and Sen Gupta, R. 1996. Who takes the credit? Gender, power and control over loan use in rural credit programs in Bangladesh. World Development, 24 (1): 45 - 63.
15. Hashemi, S. M., Schuler, S. R. and Riley, A. P. 1996. Rural credit programs and women's empowerment in Bangladesh. World Development, 24 (4): 635 - 653.
16. Holvoet, N. 2005. The impact of microfinance on decision-making agency: evidence from South India. Development and Change, 36 (1): 75 - 102.
17. Hulme, D. and Mosley, P. 1996. " Finance for the poor: impacts on poverty, vulnerability and deprivation ". In Finance against Poverty: Volume I, Edited by: Hulme, D. and Mosley, P. 105 - 137. London, New York: Routledge.
18. ISST. 2007. " Progress of women in South Asia ". New Delhi: Report prepared for UNIFEM South Asia Office by the Institute of Social Studies Trust.
19. Iversen, V., Jackson, C., Kebede, B., Munro, A. and Verschoor, A. What's love got to do with it? An experimental test of household models in East Uganda. CSAE Working Paper 2006-01. Centre for the Study of African Economies, Oxford University.
20. Jensen, R. T. 2005. " Caste, culture and the status and well-being of widows in India ". In Analyses in the Economics of Aging, Edited by: Wise, D. A. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
21. Kabeer, N. 2001. Conflicts over credit. World Development, 29 (1): 63 - 84.
22. Kabeer, N., Mahmud, S. and Tasneem, S. Does paid work provide a pathway to women's empowerment? Empirical findings from Bangladesh. IDS Working Paper Volume 2011, No. 375.
23. Kelkar, G., Nathan, D. and Jahan, R. 2004. " We were in fire, now we are in water: micro-credit and gender relations in rural Bangladesh ". New Delhi: Consultants' report for IFAD-UNIFEM.
24. McElroy, M. B. and Horney, M. J. 1981. Nash-bargained household decisions: toward a generalisation of the theory of demand. International Economic Review, 22 (2): 333 - 349.
25. McElroy, M. B. 1990. The empirical content of Nash-bargained household behavior. Journal of Human Resources, 25 (4): 559 - 583.
26. McElroy, M. B. 1997. " The policy implications of family bargaining and marriage markets ". In Intrahousehold Resource Allocation in Developing Countries: Models, Methods and Policy, Edited by: Haddad, L., Hoddinott, J. and Alderman, H. 53 - 74. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
27. Manser, M. and Brown, M. 1980. Marriage and household decisionmaking: a bargaining analysis. International Economic Review, 21 (1): 31 - 44.
28. Mayoux, L. 2002. Microfinance and women's empowerment: rethinking best practice. Development Bulletin, 57: 76 - 81.
29. Mehta, M. Towards ending violence against women in South Asia. Oxfam Briefing Paper 66. Oxford: Oxfam International.
30. Mies, M. 1982. " The dynamics of the sexual division of labor and integration of rural women into the world market ". In Women and Development: The Sexual Division of Labor in Rural Societies, Edited by: L., Beneria. 1 - 28. New York: Praeger Publishers.
31. Montgomery, R., Bhattacharya, D. and Hulme, D. 1996. " Credit for the poor in Bangladesh: the BRAC programme ". In Finance Against Poverty: Volume 2, Edited by: Hulme, D. and Mosley, P. 94 - 176. London, New York: Routledge.
32. Pitt, M. M., Khandker, S. R. and Cartwright, J. 2006. Empowering women with micro finance: evidence from Bangladesh. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 54 (4): 791 - 831.
33. Quisumbing, A. R. 2003. " What have we learned from research on intrahousehold allocation? ". In Household Decisions, Gender, and Development: A Synthesis of Recent Research, Edited by: Quisumbing, A. R. 1 - 16. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute.
34. Rahman, A. 1999. Micro-credit initiatives for equitable and sustainable development: who pays?. World Development, 27 (1): 67 - 82.
35. Rahman, R. I. Impact of Grameen Bank on the situation of poor rural women. BIDS Working Paper No.1. Dhaka: Grameen Evaluation Project, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies.
36. Sanyal, P. 2009. From credit to collective action: the role of microfinance in promoting women's social capital and normative influence. American Sociological Review, 74: 529 - 550.
37. Schuler, S. R., Hashemi, S. M. and Badal, S. H. 1998. Men's violence against women in rural Bangladesh: undermined or exacerbated by microcredit programmes?. Development in Practice, 8 (2): 148 - 157.
38. Sen, A. K. 1990. " Gender and cooperative conflicts ". In Persistent Inequalities: Women and World Development, Edited by: Tinker, I. 123 - 149. New York: Oxford University Press.
39. Sharma, M. 2003. " Microfinance ". In Household Decisions, Gender, and Development: A Synthesis of Recent Research, Edited by: Quisumbing, A. R. 195 - 199. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute.
40. Smith, L. C., Ramakrishnan, U., Ndiaye, A., Haddad, L. and Martorell, R. 2003. " The importance of women's status for child nutrition in developing countries ". Washington, DC: Research Report 3, International Food Policy Research Institute.
41. UNDP. 2010. Power, Voice and Rights: A Turning Point for Gender Equality in Asia and the Pacific, New Delhi: Macmillan Publishers India.
42. Van Tassel, E. 2004. Household bargaining and microfinance. Journal of Development Economics, 74: 449 - 468.
43. World Bank. 2006. Microfinance in South Asia: Toward Financial Inclusion for the Poor, Washington, DC: World Bank.
44. Zaman, H. The scaling up of microfinance in Bangladesh: determinants, impact and lessons. Policy Research Working Paper No. 3398. Washington, DC: World Bank.