We model the double bind problem faced by banks to achieve economies of scale that arise from spreading the fixed infrastructure costs over the number of below poverty line (BPL) customers when there is a dearth of balances in these accounts. We give estimates of the costs public sector banks bear and quantify the amelioration by the tie up of PMJDY accounts with bio-metric Aadhar cards and electronic direct benefit transfer of G2P payments.
We examined the impact of information networks, namely media and social networks on the financial decisions of female-headed households in India. The main lesson learned is that programmes aimed at improving financial awareness and decision-making must use mass media and social networks for reaching out to female-headed households.
The Indian microfinance institutes (MFI) crisis has spawned several debates on the MFI movement. What is sorely missing are the perspectives of the clients. Using the financial diary methodology, this article analyses how household cash flows are impacted by the presence or absence of MFI loans.