| 1. |
- Themnér, Anders, 1976-, et al.
(författare)
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Climate Change and the Risk of Violent Conflicts in Southern Africa
- 2011
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Bok (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This study aims to identify regions in the Zambezi River Basin in Southern Africa that are prone to risk of violent conflicts (collective violence, popular unrest) induced by climatic changes/variability. The Zambezi River is 575 kilometres long and the basin covers eight countries: Zambia, Angola, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Tanzania, Botswana, Mozambique and Namibia. Besides the ecological impact, the study argues that socio-economic and political problems are disproportionately multiplied by climate change/variability. Climate change/variability amplifies stresses on the socio-political fabric because it affects the governance of resources, and hence, is linked to the weakened mitigation and adaptation capacity of societies, that are already facing economic challenges (rising food prices, etc.). Society becomes highly vulnerable to climate induced conflicts when it suffers from poor central leadership, weak institutions and polarized social identities. Taking all these factors into consideration, this study identifies Bulawayo/Matableleland-North in Zimbabwe and the Zambezia Province in Mozambique as the most likely regions to experience climate induced conflicts in the near future. The reasons for arriving at this conclusion are: a) Climate change/variability will have a significant impact on these two regions; due to increasing water scarcity in Bulawayo/Matabeleland-North; and intensified flooding, sea-level rise, and costal erosion in the Zambezia Province. b) Due to climate change/variability, agricultural production in these two regions will become highly volatile, leading to severe food insecurity. c) Both regions are suffering from low quality political governance, having unscrupulous elites, weak institutions, and polarized social identities.
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| 2. |
- Bali Swain, Ranjula, et al.
(författare)
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Microfinance ‘Plus’ : The Impact of Business Training on Indian Self Help Groups
- 2010
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The provision of business training with microfinance leads to a positive impact on assets for the participating households. We correct for membership selection bias and account for potential training endogeneity with propensity score matching, using data from the Self Help Group microfinance program in India.
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| 3. |
- Bali Swain, Ranjula, et al.
(författare)
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Being Patient with Microfinance : The Impact of Training on Indian Self Help Groups
- 2010
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- We evaluate the impact of training provided by facilitators of Self Help Groups (SHGs). This evaluation provides one of the first studies of the impact of ‘microfinance plus,’ or the disbursement of services beyond credit. Indian SHGs are mainly NGO-formed microfinance groups but funded by commercial banks. We correct for membership selection bias with data on current as well as future SHG members. We then account for potential training endogeneity with propensity score matching. Regression and unadjusted matching results indicate that training does not aid in asset accumulation but can reverse the negative impact of credit on income. However, regression adjusted matching which controls for both participation and training selection bias reveals that training impacts assets but not income. These results are robust to sensitivity analyses performed on these estimates.
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| 4. |
- Bali Swain, Ranjula, et al.
(författare)
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Delivery Mechanisms and Impact of Training through Microfinance
- 2011
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- We evaluate the effect of delivery mechanisms for training provided by facilitators of self help groups (SHGs). Indian SHGs are unique in that they are mainly NGO ‐formed microfinance group but later funded by commercial banks. We correct for both membership and training endogeneity. Training impacts assets but not income. Underlying conditions that benefit training include better infrastructure (as in paved roads), linkage model type, and training organizer.
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| 5. |
- Bali Swain, Ranjula, et al.
(författare)
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Reassessing the Impact of SHG Participation with Non-experimental Approaches
- 2011
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Ingår i: Economic and Political Weekly. - 0012-9976. ; 46:11, s. 50-57
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper critiques recent work that measures the impact of self-help groups, and explains the biases that result from this assessment. Using survey data, it is shown that the methodologies used yield results that misstate the impact. A categorical breakdown is proposed to improve upon these studies, and a simple alternative procedure, the pipeline method, is then estimated to properly correct for selection bias. The results indicate that SHG participation has an impact on assets, livestock income, and salaries. Applying more advanced methods, training is also found to have a positive impact on assets, and empowerment is found to increase with SHG participation.
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Bali Swain, Ranjula, et al.
(författare)
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Reducing Vulnerability through Microfinance : Evidence from Indian Self Help Group Program
- 2010
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- We investigate if participation in Indian Self Help Group microfinance program (SHG) results in reducing vulnerability. Vulnerability estimates are constructed using cross-sectional SHG rural household survey data, collected in 2003. The potential selection bias is eliminated by propensity score matching to estimate the average treatment on treated effect using nearest neighbour matching and local linear regression algorithm. We find that despite a disproportionately high percentage of poor in the SHG members, vulnerability is not significantly different between the SHG and non-SHG members. This result is found to be robust using sensitivity analysis and Rosenbaum bounds method.
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