Making the Poor Creditworthy: A Case Study of the Integrated Rural Development Program in India

摘要

India's Integrated Rural Development Program (IRDP) is among the world's most ambitious efforts at credit-based poverty alleviation. The IRDP was initiated a decade ago and has reached 27 million poor households through commercial banks which provide finance for investment in income generating assets. Credit is matched by capital subsidies of 33-50% on household investment. The paper shows that providing some poor households with capital to invest in income generating assets can be an effective means of raising their incomes. The paper points out that gains in productivity of investment and credit recovery can be made by altering certain delivery features of IRDP, but argues that the existing structure of incentives facing banks and borrowers are responsible for critical shortcomings. To overcome these problems, flexible instruments are needed. (Copyright (c) 1989 The World Bank.)