Microfinance, MSMEs and the Macro Economy: Evidence from India

Much of prior literature on the relationship between microfinance and the macro-economy has focused on the effect of the latter in determining the success of microfinance institutions (MFIs). However, the microfinance industry has been underserved in studies evaluating microfinance as a legitimate contributor toward macro-economic growth. Researching this connection would provide a clearer direction for policymakers to support microfinance, and the institutions that foster such activities. This paper investigates the hypothesis that microfinance is not only important to the people at the bottom of the socio-economic pyramid, but for the overall health of a national economy. We explore different mechanisms as to how microfinance could affect the macro-economy, and simultaneously enable the growth of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and evaluate the possibility of such scenarios

A multilateral design methodology for development contexts : a framework for the Dharavi potters

Thesis (M.Arch.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 2002.Page 83 blank.Includes bibliographical references (p. 80-82).The migration from rural areas to urban environments, and the continuous growth of the current population has caused an increasing shortage of low-in come urban housing in developing countries. In addition, the high cost of available housing has driven many in the lower income groups into squatter settlements in and along the periphery of urban developments. These squatter settlements are often the result of ineffectual and dysfunctional social and economic policy, compromised structures of governance, corrupt land markets, lack of equitable and humane regulation, and improper and inefficient finance scenarios. While poverty has many dimensions, urban poverty often has a broader meaning of cumulative deprivation, characterized by: squalid living conditions; risks to life and health from poor sanitation, air pollution, crime and violence, traffic accidents, and natural disasters; and the breakdown of traditional family and community safety nets. Rapid population increases within urban areas, crumbling infrastructure, growing inequalities between rich and poor, and insufficient urban services point to the need for a reevaluation of current models of urban development. Through an investigation of a multi-disciplinary approach to development, this project will identify the difficulties and potentials within the context of development in order to augment current design, planning, financing, and construction knowledge towards the creation of viable and sustainable architecture. The Khumbar Wada potters' community in Dharavi, Mumbai will be utilized to illustrate the potential for multi lateral approaches to go beyond the rhetoric that has compromised the discussion of architecture and its relationship to development work. The design will address development strategies and construction processes that express local conditions within the urban, architectural, and tectonic scales. Through the investigation and implementation of architectural infrastructure, the design will alleviate environmental, economic, and political constraints while accommodating local values. A potters' workshop will serve to illustrate the potential of a multi lateral design methodology. This thesis aims to suggest a framework for decision-making that can be used across various sectors and at multiple scales and the physical implementation of infrastructure that allows for the creation of more humane environments.by Amina S. Razvi.M.Arch

Korail Informal Settlement in Dhaka: Design Scenarios for Well-being of Community

The proliferation of informal settlements represents a pervasive global trend. Over the past three decades, in excess of 213 million individuals have inhabited these informal habitats, constituting approximately 25% of the world's urban population (Avis, 2016) Notably, these settlements often gravitate towards water structures within the urban fabric, fostering distinctive cultural practices. Regrettably, these informal settlements are frequently perceived as eyesores, contributing to both visual and social pollution. Consequently, the informal sectors of cities have become isolated entities within the broader formal urban landscape . (Dovey, 2012) In response to this pressing issue, this project embarks on a journey to explore the potential of landscape architecture as a transformative force. It seeks to enact a design intervention with the overarching goal of considering the overall wellbeing of the informal community. The impetus for this endeavor springs from the author's deep-seated fascination, rooted in personal experiences originating from a developing country in South Asia. The rapid urbanization and burgeoning population in cities have wrought profound changes, eradicating traditional ways of living. Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, stands as a poignant example of this transformation. The relentless influx of migrants has not only exacerbated environmental challenges but has also given rise to a critical housing shortage. In response, local residents have resorted to establishing informal settlements, often along watersheds and open spaces, resulting in the expansion of areas such as the Korail Slum, notably situated by the Gulshan Lake. This project in landscape architecture aims to redefine informal settlements, focusing on both providing opportunities for affected individuals and addressing environmental degradation. Beyond physical restructuring, the goal is to create safe spaces, foster community engagement, and generate economic opportunities, particularly for women. The overarching objective is seamless integration into the city's natural landscape, revitalizing the informal sector for sustainable living while shaping the environment in a way that enhances the quality of life for the urban poor. Central to this vision is leveraging informal settlements as intermediary spaces that foster a symbiotic relationship between formal and informal city element

“Surplus Humanity and the Margins of Legality: Slums, Slumdogs, and Accumulation by Dispossession

Marooned on the outskirts of the law, more than one billion people worldwide live in urban slums and squatter settlements, mostly in the global South. Law, extra-legality, and illegality commingle in urban slums to produce spaces and subjects at the margins of legal orders and formal economies. Three enduring and inter-related features of capitalism-accumulation by dispossession, a reserve army of labor, and an informal sector of the economy-produce and sustain urban slums. The genesis and persistence of slums and slum-dwellers testify to the iron fist of the state working in concert with the hidden hand of the market in the service of accumulation of capital. Over the last thirty years, neoliberal restructuring of economies and reordering of the responsibilities of states have accentuated this process. As a result, slums in the global South have grown exponentially. An examination of public policy and pronouncements of the judiciary in India, as they related to slums and slum-dwellers, calls into question traditional understandings of the law, citizenship, and responsibilities of the state. Mainstream remedial prescriptions for housing for the urban poor increasingly rely on market forces, falling woefully short of their goal, and often accentuating the problem. The incipient right to the city provides a productive framework to re-imagine the concept of citizenship, and to guide public policy and popular action to ensure adequate housing with dignity for the urban poor and marginalized

Cluster-randomised controlled trial of community mobilisation in Mumbai slums to improve care during pregnancy, delivery, postpartum and for the newborn

Background: The United Nations Millennium Development Goals look to substantial improvements in child and maternal survival. Morbidity and mortality during pregnancy, delivery and the postnatal period are prime obstacles to achieving these goals. Given the increasing importance of urban health to global prospects, Mumbai's City Initiative for Newborn Health aims to improve maternal and neonatal health in vulnerable urban slum communities, through a combination of health service quality improvement and community participation. The protocol describes a trial of community intervention aimed at improving prevention, care seeking and outcomes.Objective: To test an intervention that supports local women as facilitators in mobilising communities for better health care. Community women's groups will build an understanding of their potential to improve maternal and infant health, and develop and implement strategies to do so.Design: Cluster-randomized controlled trial.Methods: The intervention will employ local community-based female facilitators to convene groups and help them to explore maternal and neonatal health issues. Groups will meet fortnightly through a seven-phase process of sharing experiences, discussion of the issues raised, discovery of potential community strengths, building of a vision for action, design and implementation of community strategies, and evaluation.The unit of allocation will be an urban slum cluster of 1000-1500 households. 48 clusters have been randomly selected after stratification by ward. 24 clusters have been randomly allocated to receive the community intervention. 24 clusters will act as control groups, but will benefit from health service quality improvement. Indicators of effect will be measured through a surveillance system implemented by the project. Key distal outcome indicators will be neonatal mortality and maternal and neonatal morbidity. Key proximate outcome indicators will be home care practices, uptake of antenatal, delivery and postnatal care, and care for maternal and neonatal illness.Data will be collected through a vital registration system for births and deaths in the 48 study clusters. Structured interviews with families will be conducted at about 6 weeks after index deliveries. We will also collect both quantitative and qualitative data to support a process evaluation.Trial registration: Current controlled trials ISRCTN9625679

Invisible children : a study of policy exclusion

This research investigated a particular Government of India policy, known as the\ud Integrated Child Development Scheme (or the ICDS). The ICDS operates amongst the\ud poorer sections of the population in India, for pre-school children in the age range of\ud 0-6 years. The IeDS policy, although it states that it is for 'all' children, does not in\ud practice, address the question of disabled children. The research examined why and\ud how such a major social policy in the country has omitted the disabled child from its\ud agenda. It examined the socio-cultural attitudes towards disability in the Indian subcontinent\ud and explored the wider historical, political and ideological framework in\ud which Indian social policy for the disabled exists and within which the IeDS policy\ud and practice may have become embedded.\ud Data collection included exploratory field visits; focus group discussions;\ud triangulations by follow-up interviews; semi-structured interviews; analysis of\ud historical and current documents.\ud The investigation concludes with the finding that various factors have led to\ud disabled children being left out of the IeDS programmes. In the specific context of\ud the IeDS, although it may have been the intention to include disabled children in the\ud term 'all' children, there is a gap between policy stated and policy enacted, as the\ud IeDS does not include them, in practice. The findings indicate that, due to ill-defined\ud policy objectives during the policy formulation stage, policy remains silent on the\ud issue, not clarifying that 'all' means disabled children as well. Implementation\ud strategies for the inclusion of these children therefore are not worked out, which leads\ud to the non-inclusion of disabled children from the programmes. In the wider context,\ud the findings indicate that the national policy concerning disabled children lacks\ud cohesion and does not give clear directives for the implementation of inclusion to take\ud place. The Government's conceptualisation of disabled children is full of ambiguity\ud and confusion: governmental reliance on voluntary organisations to deliver services\ud ensures a micro-level coverage and indicates a lack of philosophical commitment to\ud the integrated education of disabled children. Non-Government Organisations\ud (NGOs) and their concentration on the delivery of services move the issue away from\ud 2\ud a rights approach, leading to a disempowerment and depoliticisation of the disabled\ud group. This takes the matter out of the public domain, making it a politically weak\ud group and placing it within a charity framework. Negative attitudes, ignorance and a\ud lack of awareness that prevails towards disability have also contributed to an overall\ud ideological and cultural entrenchment in the subcontinent, contributing to\ud marginalisation. The absence of a clear policy directive has left this segment of the\ud population at a critical age out of the programmes of the ICDS.\u