Socio-economic consequences of microfinance investment in Pakistan

In dieser Dissertation untersuchen wir zwei Ansprüche, die häufig mit ‚Mikrofinanzierung‘ geltend gemacht werden: dass Mikrofinanzierung Armut verringert und dass sie die ökonomische Situation armer Haushalte auf gesamtwirtschaftlicher ‚nationaler‘ Ebene generell verbessert. Da diese Ansprüche gesamtwirtschaftlich gemeint sind und sich auf die Makroebene beziehen, lehnen wir lokale Mikrostudien als inadäquaten Forschungsansatz ab. Allerdings lehnen wir einen hochaggregierten Forschungsansatz ebenso ab, da zu erwarten ist, dass das relative kleine Volumen der Mikrofinanzierung im Vergleich zum BIP von Pakistan interessante Forschungsresultate auf hochaggregierter ‚nationaler‘ Ebene ausschließt. Daher untersuchen wir die sozio-ökonomischen Effekte der Mikrofinanzierung in Pakistan auf subnationaler Ebene. Wir wählen zwei Bezirke: Sialkot (SK), ein auf Kleinindustrie und Gewerbe basierender Bezirk und Rahimyar Khan (RYK), ein auf Landwirtschaft basierender Bezirk und erklären unter Anwendung ökonomischer Theorien die durch mikrofinanzierte Investitionen in diesen Bezirken verursachten sozio-ökonomischen Effekte. Wir kombinieren dazu fallibilistische , deduktive Methoden (Popper) und statistische Techniken : die Anwendung fallibilistischer deduktiver Methoden dienen dem empirischen Test ökonomischer Theorien, wobei jene durch die Ableitung singulärer Vorhersagen und deren Konfrontation mit Basissätzen mit der ‚Erfahrung‘ konfrontiert werden; statistische Techniken dienen der Formulierung und der Auswahl der so genannten Basissätze. Auf dieser Basis wird eine spezifische Version einer Akzelerator-Theorie der Investitionen als adäquate Erklärung von durch mikrofinanzierte Investitionen verursachten sozio-ökonomischen Effekten, ausgewählt. Unter Verwendung der in den Berichten von PMN, HIES und MICS angeführten Daten und um die entsprechenden Basissätze zu formulieren, testen wir unterschiedliche Nullhypothesen. Unsere Ergebnisse zeigen, dass nach der formellen Einführung der Mikrofinanzierung in Pakistan die durchschnittlichen Haushaltseinkommen von SK im Vergleich zu RYK signifikant gestiegen sind und dass die absoluten Armutsquotienten um jeweils 44% in SK und 19% in RYK gesunken sind. Auch konnten positive Effekte der Mikrofinanzierung hinsichtlich einer gleichmäßigeren Einkommensverteilung in SK festgestellt werden, wo der Ginikoeffizient von 0,77 im Jahre 2001 auf 0,44 im Jahre 2017 gesunken ist. Im Gegensatz hiezu ist jedoch die Einkommensverteilung in RYK, seit der Einführung von Mikrofinanzierung, ungleicher geworden. Unsere Resultate legen aber auch nahe, dass Mikrofinanzierung den signifikanten Anstieg der Beschäftigung in Sialkot, sowie die Erhöhung anderer wichtiger Indikatoren, wie etwa den Anstieg der Anzahl von Schülern und Schülerinnen in beiden Bezirken und die Anzahl von Patienten die BHUs aufsuchten. Generell kann aber festgestellt werden, dass die Auswirkungen von Mikrofinanzierung auf den industriell-gewerblichen Bezirk Sialkot wesentlich größer und besser sind als auf den landwirtschaftlichen Bezirk Rahimyar Khan (RYK).In this dissertation, we investigate two major claims, quite frequently associated with microfinance: i.e., that microfinance decreases poverty and that it enhances economic conditions of poor households on a nationwide level. Since those claims are made for an aggregate level, we reject micro level investigations because they do not constitute an adequate approach for this research. However, we reject a nationwide aggregate approach as well, because it is to be expected that the relatively small volume of microfinance to overall GDP of Pakistan, rule out interesting findings on a nationwide scale. Consequently, we analyze the socio-economic effects of microfinance on a subnational, i.e. on a district level in Pakistan. We select two districts: Sialkot (SK), a manufacturing based district and Rahimyar Khan (RYK), an agricultural based district, and apply economic theories in order to explain that certain socio-economic effects are caused by micro finance investment. We combine fallibilist (Popperian) deductive methods and statistical techniques here: Fallibilist deductive methods are applied to test theories empirically by inferring predictions that can clash with ‘experience’ in terms of basic statements; statistical methods and techniques are applied to form those so-called basic statements. On that basis, a specific version of an accelerator theory of investment is chosen as an adequate explanation of socio-economic effects caused by microfinance investment. Using the data from PMN, HIES and MICS reports and in order to formulate the required basic statements we test different null-hypotheses. Our findings are that after the formal implementation of microfinance in Pakistan the average household incomes of (SK) increased significantly as compared to RYK, and that the absolute poverty ratios declined by 44% and 19% for (SK) and RYK, respectively. Also it was ascertained that microfinance positively affected the income distribution in (SK), where the Gini-coefficient declined from 0.77 in 2001, to 0.44 in 2017. In contrast, income distribution has become more unequal for RYK, since the implementation of microfinance. Also our findings suggest that microfinance is the cause of the noticeable increase in the employment in the manufacturing sector of Sialkot as well as of the increase of other indicators for both districts such as the school enrolment rate of boys and girls, and the number of patients consulting BHUs. However, in general, our findings suggest that the overall performance of microfinance in the manufacturing district (Sialkot) is far better than that in the agricultural district of Rahimyar Khan (RYK)

Complementary or Substitutes? The Relationship Between Monetary Donation and Volunteerism: A Case Study of Quaid-I-Azam University Islamabad

Charitable organisations are always in a search of potential donors to donate money and volunteer time as well. For this purpose, they search for such potential donors who are willing to give time and money to help financially poor students. The previous literature has split into two aspects, whether monetary donation is a complement of volunteering time, or it is a substitute. The current study aims to clarify the relationship between the occurrence of monetary donation and time and to investigate whether certain demographic and some intrinsic factors variates with this relationship. Primary data has been collected from students of Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad. For determining the relationship, a correlation test is applied which resulted in that occurrence of willingness to donate and volunteer is complementary (r=0.39). In addition, a multinomial logit is applied to ensure that a combination of gender, urban/rural, monthly income of the family, satisfaction level and religiosity trigger the complementarity between the occurrence of donation and volunteerism. If we tap such type of donors who are willing to give money and volunteer time, we can help many students who are suffering from financial hardship and are intended to leave their academic career incomplete

Entrepreneurial Leadership and Creativity in Projects: A Moderated-Mediated Mechanism.

For managers/leaders without creativity and innovation, it's difficult to compete effectively on the market. Employee top success is not often enough to achieve a strategic edge in which creative attitudes and innovation can be counted as materials to create. An entrepreneurial leadership style is recognised as a crucial source of enhancing creativity in project-based organisations. However current research will provide empirical evidence in which leadership leads to creativity in projects through Innovative Work Behaviour (IWB) and Entrepreneurial SelfEfficacy (ESE) as a moderator. For this purpose, the leaders/managers in the project-based organisations are in the twin cities of Peshawar and Nowshera, KP; Pakistan was taken as a population of the study. All the four variables were measured through adopted instruments from the previous studies. Due to time, cost and other constraints, the study has employed the convenience sampling technique to gathered data. The collected data was run through various statistical techniques such as data cleaning, internal consistency, CFA and relationship via Structural Educational Modelling using CB AMOS 23. The results of the study found that Entrepreneurial leadership has significant and positive association with creativity in projects. The study also examined that innovative work behaviour partially mediates the association between Entrepreneurial leadership and has significant and positive association with creativity in projects. Further, the study also found that entrepreneurial self-efficacy moderates the association between entrepreneurial leadership and has significant and positive association with creativity in projects