 | ISTR Sixth International Conference Toronto, Canada / July 11-14, 2004 Contesting Citizenship and Civil Society in a Divided World |
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| Abstracts |
Integrated quantitative analysis to assess the performance of SHGs in India
by
C.K. Renukarya
Professor of Economics & Director, Mahajana Post Graduate Centre, KRS Road, Mysore
Introduction:
Over the past few decades several informal and formal and innovative approaches in financing the poor in a substantiate manner have been experimented in many developing countries. The success achieved by Grameen Bank Bangladesh, efforts of Bank Rakyat Indenesia (BRI) Indonesia, Bank of agriculture and Agricultural co-operatives (BAAC) in Thailand, Annanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM) of Malasia and agricultural Development Bank of Nepal (ADBN) have inspired a number of NGOs in India to try group approach to meet the credit challenges at micro level. Many NGOs in India have actively promoted indigenous Self Help Groups (SHGs) to take on the responsibilities of financial intermediation on themselves. The total number of SHGs linked to banks has increased to 4.61 lakhs. A time has come now, to evolve systematic Methodology to distinguish between (i) well performing and poor performing SHGs and (ii) determine which variables discriminate between two or more naturally occurring groups and (iii) identify the important variables, which effectively discriminate the performing and non-performing groups.
Issue with in the literature:
Vast amount of literature exists in the area of performance of self-help groups (SHGs) in India. Reference can be made to Harper (1996), Mohan (1997), Puhazhendi (1995), Krishnamurthy (1996), Panda and Mishra (1996), Ramesha (1996), suryamani (1996), Vedini (1996), Das et al (2000), Gupta&Srivasthava (2000), Hosmani et al (2000), Jairath (2000), Binodini-sethi and Atibudhi (2001), Singh et al (2001), Srinivasan et al (2001). However, none of these studies develops a methodology to evaluate the performance of SHGs. The present paper addresses to the issue of Quantitative measurement of SHGs. In this sense the paper is seminal in nature.
Methodology
The present paper develops 3 Quantitative techniques in an integrated way to quantitatively measure the performance of SHGs in India (1). Discriminate Functional Analysis, which can be effectively used to discriminate between well performing and poorly performing SHGS. On the basis of their performance. The procedure estimates co-efficients of the linear discriminant function that is similar to the right side of the Multiple linear Regression equation. The function is,
D = b1x1 + b2x2 + b3x3 + ……….. + b15x15
As many as 15 variables are be included in the model.
(i) Stepwise Linear Regression Analysis: the model identifies important
Variables, which effectively discriminates the performing and non-performing groups. The Stepping method criteria can enable us to determine the entering and departing variables. This would help one to identify the strong variables to identify the well performing groups.
(ii) Principle component Analysis and factor analysis:
The twin analysis can be used to reduce the dimensionality of multivariate data. The methods rapidly identify the key variables that control the system under study. The resulting dimension also permits graphical representation of the data so that significant relationships among observations of samples are identified.
The above methodology is tested effectively in 44 SHGs of Dakshinan Kannda, Kolar and Gulbarga districts of Karnaktaka state in India. It is found that the methodology can be used with great facility to SGHS all over the world, in general and SHGs in developing countries in particular. The methodology is computer friendly also.
Date received: October 7, 2003
Copyright © 2003 by the author(s). The author(s) of this document and the organizers of the conference have granted their consent to include this abstract in Atlas Conferences Inc. Document # camm-42.