Submit Manuscript

The International Journal of Applied Economics and Finance

Year: 2007 | Volume: 1 | Issue: 2 | Page No.: 97-104
Research Article

Microfinance Programs and Social Capital Formation: The Present Scenario in a Rural Village of Bangladesh

Saharia Kanak
Not Available
Yoshiaki Iiguni
Not Available
Microfinance has been regarded as one of the most viable tools for poverty alleviation and socioeconomic development with developing countries in recent years. Many of the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in Bangladesh, currently working as Microfinance Organizations (MFOs) - including the Grameen Bank, Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) and PROSHIKA-have established innovative microfinance programs that have provided financial services to millions of poor people in the country. Although the main focus of all microfinance programs is income-generation for the poor, one of the important outcomes is believed to be the creation of social capital. In this qualitative study, we investigated the present scenario of social capital formation mainly through the microfinance program of BRAC in a rural village of Bangladesh. The study results suggest that a microfinance program does not essentially create effective social capital unless enforced by the microfinance organization. Social capital formation through microfinance programs largely depends on well-designed social capital building strategy of the respective microfinance organization and its actual implementation in the grass-root level.
PDF Fulltext XML References Citation

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Article Trend

Total views 4004

References

  1. Bourdieu, P., 1985. The Forms of Capital. In: In: Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education. Richardson, J. G. (Ed.), Greenwood Press, New York, pp: 241-258.
  2. BRAC, 2006. The BRAC Annual Report 2006. Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee, Dhaka
  3. Edgcomb, E.L. and L.R. Barton, 1998. Social intermediation and microfinance programs Aliterature review. Microenterprise Best Practices Project, USAID.
  4. Lovell, C.H., 1992. Breaking the Cycle of Poverty the BRAC Strategy. Kumarian Press, West Hartford, CT.
  5. Nahapiet, J. and S. Ghoshal, 1998. Social capital, intellectual capital and the organizational advantage. Acad. Manage. Rev., 23: 242-266.
    CrossRefDirect Link
  6. Putnam, R.D., 1993. Making Democracy Work Civic Traditions in Modern Italy. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey.
  7. Seibel, H., 2000. How values create value Social capital in microfinance the case of Philippjnes Working Paper No. B8, International Fund for Agricultural Development.
  8. Van Bastelaer, T., 1999. Imperfect information social capital and the poors access to credit. Working Paper No. 234, Center for Institutional Reform and the Informal Sector (IRIS), University of Maryland.
  9. Woolcock, M., 1998. Social capital and economic development Toward a theoretical synthesis and policy framework. Theory and Society, 27: 151-208.
  10. Yunus, M., 1999. Banker to the poor Micro lending and the battle against world poverty. Public Affairs, New York.
  11. Yunus, M., 2005. Grameen Bank at a glance. Grameen Bank, Dhaka.
  12. Zohir, S., S. Mahmud, B. Sen, M. Asaduzzaman, J.M. Islam, N. Ahmed and A. Al Mamun, 2001. Monitoring and evaluation of microfinance institutions. Final Report, BIDS, Dhaka.

Keywords