Employment Creation through Credit: A Glimpse from Credit Program for Ultra-poor Households in Bangladesh

Abstract

This paper examined the impact on employment of a credit plus program designed for ultra-poor households in the Northwest region of Bangladesh. Both descriptive and econometric techniques were used, and four regression models were estimated for each of the dependent variables with linear and log-lin specifications: one is a simple model considering only time effect and program effect, and the others were the extended models which included various characteristics of the households and the regions. The descriptive analysis showed that most of the beneficiary households had shifted from single earning members to multiple earning members. Women had started to contribute to household earnings. The results showed that the participant ultra-poor households had gained around 21.1% additional employment days due to the program participation opportunities within 2008-2013, with an annual rate of 4.2% gain. The extra earning days included wage-employment days and self-employment days and the results showed that due to the program, the wage-employment days had increased by 2.6% annually and the self-employment days increased by 6.6% annually holding the effects of other explanatory variables constant. The working days of non-participants had increased but at a lower rate than that of the program participant households. The results confirmed that the credit program for ultra-poor households had a significantly positive effect on the creation of employment days and employment opportunities.