Desai, Raj M.Joshi, Shareen2013-09-272013-09-272013-07https://hdl.handle.net/10986/15907In response to the problems of high coordination costs among the poor, efforts are underway in many countries to organize the poor through "self-help groups" (SHGs) -- membership-based organizations that aim to promote social cohesion through a mixture of education, access to finance, and linkages to wider development programs. The authors randomly selected 32 of 80 villages in one of the poorest districts in rural India in which to establish SHGs for women. Two years of exposure to these programs increased women's participation in group savings programs as well as the non-agricultural labor force. Compared to women in control villages, treated women were also more likely to participate in household decisions and engage in civic activities. The authors find no evidence however, that participation increased income or had a disproportionate impact by women's socio-economic status. These results are important in light of the recent effort to expand official support to SHGs under the National Rural Livelihood Mission.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOABUSEACCESS TO CREDITACCESS TO FINANCEACCOUNTABILITYAGRICULTURAL INCOMEAGRICULTURAL INCOMESBANK ACCOUNTBANK LOANSBENEFITS OF PARTICIPATIONBLOCK GRANTSBORROWINGBRIBEBRIBESBRIBINGCAPACITY BUILDINGCENTER FOR DEVELOPMENTCIVIC ENGAGEMENTCIVIC PARTICIPATIONCOLLABORATIONCOMMUNITIESCOMMUNITY AFFAIRSCOMMUNITY DEVELOPMENTCOMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONSCONTRACEPTIVE USECOOPERATIVESCREDIT HISTORIESCREDIT INSTITUTIONSCREDIT MARKETSCREDIT MECHANISMDEMOCRACYDEPOSITDEVELOPMENT POLICYDEVELOPMENT STRATEGIESDISADVANTAGED GROUPSDISTRICTSDOWRYDRINKING WATERDWELLINGDWELLINGSECONOMIC BACKGROUNDECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICSECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIESEDUCATION SERVICESEDUCATIONAL SERVICESEMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIESEQUALITYEXCLUSIONFACILITATORSFAMILY DECISIONSFAMILY PLANNINGFAMILY SIZEFARMERSFEMALEFEMALE LITERACYFINANCIAL CAPACITYFINANCIAL MARKETSFINANCIAL SYSTEMFINANCIAL TRAININGFORMAL FINANCIAL SECTORGENDERGENDER EQUALITYGENDER GAPGENDER INEQUALITYGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONSGREATER ACCESSGREEN REVOLUTIONGROUP ACCOUNTSGROUP LENDINGHEALTH SERVICESHOME OWNERSHIPHOUSEHOLD FINANCESHOUSEHOLD SIZEHOUSEHOLDSHUSBANDILLITERACYILLITERATE WOMENINDIVIDUAL MEMBERSINDIVIDUAL WOMENINDUCEMENTINTEGRATED RURAL DEVELOPMENTINTEREST RATEINTERMEDIARYINTERNAL FUNDSINTERNATIONAL BANKINTERVENTIONINTERVENTIONSINTERVIEWSJOB TRAININGKINSHIPLABOR FORCELABOR FORCE PARTICIPATIONLABOR MARKETSLEARNINGLEVELS OF EDUCATIONLEVELS OF PARTICIPATIONLIMITED ACCESSLITERACY TRAININGLOANLOCAL COMMUNITYLOCAL GOVERNMENTLOCAL GOVERNMENTSMARITAL STATUSMARRIED WOMENMEDICAL CAREMICRO-ENTERPRISEMICRO-ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENTMICRO-FINANCEMICROFINANCEMICROFINANCE INSTITUTIONMOBILITYNATIONAL COUNCILNUMBER OF MIGRANTSPARTICIPATION RATESPERSONAL EMPOWERMENTPOLICY DISCUSSIONSPOLICY MAKERSPOLICY RESEARCHPOLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPERPOLITICAL PARTICIPATIONPOLITICAL PARTIESPOPULATION AND DEVELOPMENTPOPULATION DENSITYPOVERTY REDUCTIONPREVAILING ATTITUDESPROGRESSPROJECT DESIGNPROPERTY RIGHTSPUBLIC HEALTHPUBLIC INVESTMENTSPUBLIC SERVICESRECONSTRUCTIONRESIDENCYRESPECTREVOLVING FUNDRURAL AREASRURAL BANKSRURAL CREDITRURAL DEVELOPMENTRURAL DISTRICTRURAL ECONOMYSANITATIONSAVINGSSAVINGS ACCOUNTSAVINGS ACCOUNTSSCHOOL CHILDRENSCHOOLINGSELF-EMPLOYMENTSELF-HELPSERVICE DELIVERYSHOPSSKILLS TRAININGSOCIAL COHESIONSOCIAL EMPOWERMENTSOCIAL NETWORKSSOCIAL SCIENCESOCIAL SECURITYSOCIOECONOMIC STATUSSOURCES OF CREDITSPILLOVERSPILLOVER EFFECTSSTATE GOVERNMENTSTRAINING PROGRAMSTRAINING SERVICESUNEMPLOYMENTVILLAGEVILLAGE LEVELVILLAGESVOCATIONAL SKILLSVOCATIONAL TRAININGVULNERABLE GROUPSVULNERABLE WOMENWOMANWORKFORCEcollective actionWorld Bank10.1596/1813-9450-6547