A method to monitor poverty dynamics among microfinance clients: An example using survey data from Bangladesh

Hernandez-Hernandez, Emilio and Schreiner, Mark (2012): A method to monitor poverty dynamics among microfinance clients: An example using survey data from Bangladesh. Published in: South Asian Journal of Evaluation in Practice , Vol. 1, No. 1 (9 January 2012): pp. 1-8.

Abstract

This article presents a practical methodology to monitor poverty changes among microfinance clients using available household panel data. As an example, it presents an estimation of the net number of people that rose above the $1/day poverty line while members of Grameen Bank and BRAC during 1990 to 2006. The proposed method contributes to on-going efforts from microfinance practitioners to verify whether their clients are moving out of poverty and validate management strategies aiming to target new poor clients, and increase their share of poor clients over time. Estimates show that about 6.6 million people rose above the $1/day poverty line in 1990-2006 while members of Grameen or BRAC. This represents about 40 percent of the total number of poor people that crossed this poverty line during the same time period at the national level, which validates targeting strategies to reach the poor.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Microfinance; poverty reduction, poverty monitoring, Bangaldesh
• Subjects: E - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics > E2 - Consumption, Saving, Production, Investment, Labor Markets, and Informal Economy > E21 - Consumption ; Saving ; Wealth; D - Microeconomics > D1 - Household Behavior and Family Economics > D14 - Household Saving; Personal Finance; B - History of Economic Thought, Methodology, and Heterodox Approaches > B4 - Economic Methodology > B41 - Economic Methodology

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