Convergence of Social Protection Programs in India: Impact of Self-Help Groups on Access to and Employment Under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme

Hoop, Thomas de; Siwach, Garima; Holla, Chinmaya; Mahapatra, Bidhubhusan

doi:10.2139/ssrn.4153417

Cited by 5 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Meanwhile, SHGs provided training and produced hand sanitizers and protective gear, in addition to running community kitchens. The MoRD (2020) reported that about 300,000 SHG members from 60,000 SHGs produced more than 200 million masks, resulting in temporary income sources for SHG members (de De Hoop et al, 2021). During this time, SHG members and other women's microenterprises faced challenges because of inventory loss, cancellation of orders, lack of transportation and raw materials, and delayed payments (Kudumbashree State Mission, 2020).…”

Section: Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID‐19 lockdown and collective activities: Evidence from the world's largest self‐help group program

Siwach

Hoop

Udayakumar

et al. 2023

Applied Eco Perspectives Pol

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We study the impact of the COVID‐19 lockdown in 2020 on the monthly savings of self‐help groups (SHGs) in India, and the role of SHGs in mitigating the economic effects of the lockdown. Administrative data suggest that monthly savings of SHGs declined by 66% between March and July of 2020, with larger declines in areas with more stringent lockdowns. Survey data revealed that SHG and non‐SHG households had similar consumption and income losses during the lockdown. Households with SHG members and those that received assistance from SHGs in procuring ration or accessing community kitchens reported significantly higher food security, however.

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Section: Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID‐19 lockdown and collective activities: Evidence from the world's largest self‐help group program

Siwach

Hoop

Udayakumar

et al. 2023

Applied Eco Perspectives Pol

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“…A recent study from Uganda found that membership in savings groups was associated with a lower likelihood of suffering income shocks and a lower likelihood of a reduction in food consumption ( Kansiime et al, 2021 ). A study from India found mixed results, suggesting smaller decreases in consumption after COVID-19 for SHG members compared to non-members but no evidence for statistically significant associations with other economic outcomes ( de Hoop et al, 2021 ). In addition, most women’s group farmers in Kerala, India, were able to get a fair return because they had access to enough intra-group labor to continue harvesting during COVID-19 ( Agarwal, 2021 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This option included SHG loans for which the account was classified as ‘standard’ as of March 1, 2020, and where defaults were not over 30 days. However, reports suggest that by the deadline of 31 December 2020, banks had received restructuring requests for only 2% of the loan book ( de Hoop et al, 2021 ). Policy seeking to bolster resilience will likely need to go beyond the provision of resources for basic needs and instead incorporate a multidimensional approach that includes psychosocial support, access to health information, and protections against the increased risks of gender-based and domestic violence ( Tankha, 2020 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We examine both immediate and longer-term effects of covariate shocks on women’s groups and their members. In this way we add to existing evidence about the short-term effects of COVID-19 on SHG savings in India ( Siwach et al , 2023 ) and how SHGs in India and savings groups in Nigeria may have contributed to mitigating some of the negative short-term effects of COVID-19 on agricultural productivity, consumption, and food security ( Adegbite et al, 2022 ; Agarwal, 2021 ; de Hoop et al, 2021 ). Triangulating the findings from those studies with the findings from the evidence synthesis allows for learning about the potential longer-term effects of COVID-19 on women’s groups and their members.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Groups can adapt their in-place human infrastructure to play a key role in community responses to shocks by disseminating important information, contributing to crisis responses by providing necessary household and community services, and helping members obtain access to social protection. In the case of COVID-19, Indian self-help groups (SHGs) and savings groups in sub-Saharan Africa also contributed to producing masks, operating community kitchens, and running help desks ( Adegbite et al, 2022 ; de Hoop et al, 2020 ; de Hoop et al, 2021 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Women's groups, covariate shocks, and resilience: An evidence synthesis of past shocks to inform a response to COVID-19

Walcott

Schmidt

Kaminsky³

et al. 2023

Gates Open Res

Self Cite

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Background: Interventions with women’s groups are increasingly seen as an important strategy for advancing women’s empowerment, health, and economic outcomes in low- and middle-income countries, with the potential to increase the resiliency of members and their communities during widespread covariate shocks, such as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Methods: This evidence synthesis compiles evidence from past shocks on women’s group activities and the extent to which women’s groups mitigate the effects of shocks on members and communities. We reviewed 90 documents from academic databases, organizational reports, and additional gray literature, and included literature diverse in geography, type of women’s group, and shock. Results: The literature suggests that covariate shocks tend to disrupt group activities and reduce group resources, but linkages to formal institutions can mitigate this impact by extending credit beyond the shock-affected resource pool. Evidence was largely supportive of women’s groups providing resilience to members and communities, though findings varied according to shock severity, group purpose and structure, and outcome measures. Further, actions to support individual resilience during a shock, such as increased payment flexibility, may run counter to group resilience. The findings of the evidence synthesis are largely consistent with emerging evidence about women’s groups and COVID-19 in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Conclusions: We finalize the paper with a discussion on policy implications, including the importance of sustainable access to financial resources for women’s group members; equity considerations surrounding the distribution of group benefits and burdens; and the potential for meaningful partnerships between women’s groups and local governments and/or non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to enhance community response amidst crises.

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Social Welfare ‘Schemes’ to an Economic Security ‘System’

Rahman,

Pingali

2024

Palgrave Studies in Agricultural Economics and Food Policy

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This chapter synthesizes our arguments with a discussion on how to re-organize the ideas and praxis of social welfare policy in India with a perspective into the future. We argue that fostering development resilience—as the scope of social welfare programs—requires a stronger citizen-state social contract, a pact which recognizes human deprivation not only as material poverty but also along multiple dimensions of well-being. Social welfare programs, therefore, must be thought of as multiple forms of support—with a focus on deprivations along the life-cycle—which together comprise a risk absorbing social welfare ‘system.’ The ability to foster a resilient development process in the future would require this system to be complemented with strong public systems—infrastructure and citizen empowerment—which enable citizens to attain their human capabilities once the risks are taken care of. Building such a welfare system would not only require greater fiscal space—through tax revenues, resources, and rationalization of subsidies—and strengthened state capacity to improve last-mile delivery, but also a prescient understanding of the newer risks and vulnerabilities in the context of rapid economic and social change.

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Convergence of Social Protection Programs in India: Impact of Self-Help Groups on Access to and Employment Under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme

Cited by 5 publications

References 9 publications

COVID‐19 lockdown and collective activities: Evidence from the world's largest self‐help group program

COVID‐19 lockdown and collective activities: Evidence from the world's largest self‐help group program

Women's groups, covariate shocks, and resilience: An evidence synthesis of past shocks to inform a response to COVID-19

Social Welfare ‘Schemes’ to an Economic Security ‘System’

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