Reducing Rural Poverty in Asia: Challenges and Opportunities for Microenterprises and Public Employment Schemes

Fight rural poverty through the creation of significant policy mechanisms, microenterprises, and employment programs

The majority of the world’s poor live in Asia, and most of these live in rural areas. These areas are also infamous for the food insecurity and malnutrition associated with poverty. Making even a modest dent in rural Asian poverty has the potential to realize large gains in global human development.

Reducing Rural Poverty in Asia provides evidence-based guidelines for policymakers in developing countries, for researchers focusing on development problems, and for the international development assistance community in the continuing search for ways to effectively reduce poverty in the developing world. Detailed examinations are clearly presented on the efforts for poverty alleviation through microenterprise development and rural public employment programs that focus on public works and household/small-scale industries. Asia-based case studies of various microenterprises and rural public employment projects reveal important policy mechanisms and the effectiveness of each poverty reduction measure. Tables, figures, and relevant glossaries make unfamiliar terms and difficult information easy to understand.

Part I of Reducing Rural Poverty in Asia:

• presents a framework for the analysis of rural microenterprises with a focus on microfinance
  
• highlights the main findings of country-specific case studies
  
• suggests guidelines for an appropriate strategy for the provision of microfinance to reach the poor, alleviate poverty, and create financial stability
  
• analyzes the issues relating to public wage employment schemes and the principal findings of the case studies
  
• draws policy conclusions for the formulation of effective public employment schemes

Part II of Reducing Rural Poverty in Asia presents case studies conducted in India, Bangladesh, and the Philippinesalong with revealing conclusions. These studies include:

• the SIDBI Foundation for Micro Credit in Indiaincluding the continuing problem of the exclusion of the poorest
  
• the Maharashtra Rural Credit Project in India and concerns about the sustainability of the financial infrastructure
  
• the Small Enterprises Development Project in Bangladesh and the high rate of return on capital from financed enterprises
  
• the successes of the Grameen Uddog, Agrani Bank Micro-Enterprise Development Unit (MEDU), and Kishoreganj Community-Based Projects in Bangladesh
  
• the income-stabilizing role of the Employment Guarantee Scheme in Maharashtra, India
  
• guidelines for the Public Works Employment policy and implementation in the Philippines

Reducing Rural Poverty in Asia is a concise overview of the crucial research undertaken at the request of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and makes this a vital resource for researchers, educators, students, policymakers, and development experts working towards the goal of poverty reduction.