Handbook of Research on Microfinancial Impacts on Women Empowerment, Poverty, and Inequality

One of the major tools of attaining proper development all around the world is complete financial inclusion, such that all classes of people can secure their lifestyles through access to financial services from formal sectors. Expanding access to resources and increasing self-employment opportunities help reduce poverty and improve social development. The Handbook of Research on Microfinancial Impacts on Women Empowerment, Poverty, and Inequality is an essential reference source that discusses the role of financial inclusion in gender equality, as well as economic independence and self-employment. Featuring research on topics such as inequality, collaborative economy, and social responsibility, this publication is ideally designed for policy makers, economic researchers, and academicians seeking coverage on social mobilization, capital formation, capacity building, and pro-poor economy designs. Title Page 1 Copyright Page 2 Book Series 3 Editorial Advisory Board 5 List of Contributors 6 Table of Contents 7 Detailed Table of Contents 10 Foreword 18 Preface 19 Acknowledgment 26 Section 1: Effects of Microfinance on Women Empowerment Across Countries 27 Chapter 1: How Does Microfinance Empower Women in Nigeria? 28 Chapter 2: Microfinance 50 Chapter 3: Microfinance and Women Empowerment: An Empirical Analysis 79 Chapter 4: Microfinance as a Weapon to Gain Empowerment 92 Chapter 5: Microfinancial Collaborative Economies Business Models and Strategies for Quality of Life Improvement 121 Chapter 6: An Overview of Microfinance in India and Its Role in Financing Poor Women 140 Chapter 7: An Empirical Study on Economic Empowerment of Women Through Self-Help Group of Indian Sunderban Delta of North 24 Parganas of West Bengal, India 156 Chapter 8: Examining the Viability of Social Responsibility of Microfinance by the Bank Compartamos, Mexico 192 Section 2: Microfinance: A Weapon to Combat Poverty and Inequality in Countries 214 Chapter 9: Reflections on Microfinance 215 Chapter 10: Effect of Microfinance on Poor Peri-Urban Female-Headed Households and the Vulnerability of Women to Poverty in Ghana 235 Chapter 11: An Analysis of Poverty and Inequality Among the Members of SHGs in West Bengal, India 253 Chapter 12: A Tri-Variate Nexus of Microfinance-Growth-Inequality 274 Chapter 13: The Quest for Financial Inclusion and Microfinance Institutions in India 293 Chapter 14: Reducing Inequality in Developing Countries Through Microfinance 308 Chapter 15: Microfinance and Gender Discrimination 329 Chapter 16: The Effect of Microfinance on Inequality and Household Shocks Easing in Nigeria 350 Chapter 17: Impact of Self-Help Group (SHG) Membership on Income and Income Inequality 368 Chapter 18: Poverty and Inequality of SHG-Member Households 392 Chapter 19: Poverty and Microfinance in Char Areas of Dhubri District in Assam 413 Compilation of References 429 About the Contributors 470 Index 477 "This book explores the issue of whether microfinance institutions empower women has become a heated debate not only in theoretical and empirical economics, but also in policy parlance"-- Provided by publisher