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Characteristics for the Effectiveness of Women’s Self-Help Groups in Bihar

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Abstract

This study examines whether group heterogeneity and group structure and process predict the effectiveness of women’s self-help groups in terms of their financial performance, self-reliance of the group, members’ decision-making ability at the household level, and access to non-financial benefits. Data were collected using an interview schedule from 210 women’s self-help groups in six districts of Bihar and data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling. The findings suggest that the group heterogeneity directly predicts the effectiveness of women’s self-help groups and it is fully transmitted through group structure and process to positively predict the effectiveness of the women’s self-help groups. The group structure and process is found to be a full mediator between group heterogeneity and group effectiveness. The predictive accuracy of the model is found to be high. The findings have implications to bring in more diversity in members castes, education, and their reasons for joining women’s self-help groups at the formation stage and variations in members’ skills and expertise at the performing stage of the groups. The members’ awareness on group norms and trust in financial transactions, and leadership styles together with cooperation and cohesion among members, transparency in financial transactions, group attendance, and networking with the bank and the federation foster the effectiveness of women’s self-help groups.

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Acknowledgements

The author(s) would like to thanks Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society (BRLPS) for supporting in the research work on women’s self-help groups in Bihar. The author(s) extends their thanks to Arvind Chaudhary, Secretary, Rural Development Department, Government of Bihar and Balamurugan D, Chief Executive Officer, BRLPS for their support in the research work.

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  1. Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, West Bengal, 721302, India

    Ritesh Kumar, Damodar Suar & Pulak Mishra

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  1. Ritesh Kumar
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Correspondence to Ritesh Kumar.

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Kumar, R., Suar, D. & Mishra, P. Characteristics for the Effectiveness of Women’s Self-Help Groups in Bihar. Voluntas 29, 1283–1299 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-018-9995-9

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