Marie Michael Library

Who takes the credit?: gender, power, and control over loan use in rural credit programmes in Bangladesh

Goetz, Anne Marie; Gupta, Rina Sen

Women in Bangladesh have gained an international reputation for their excellent credit performance in specialised credit institutions. The fact that they are a good credit risk has made them a priority target group for poverty-oriented credit programs. This paper assesses the degree to which women actually control loans once they have gained access to credit institutions. It finds that a significant proportion of women's loans are directly invested by their male relatives, with women borrowers bearing the liability for repayment, though not necessarily directly benefiting from loan use.