TITLE:
Impact of Micro-Credit on Livelihoods of Rural Poor in the Punjab, Pakistan
AUTHORS:
Muhammad Luqman, Shiwei Xu, Yu Wen, Muhammad Yaseen, Liwei Gao
KEYWORDS:
Impact, Micro-Credit, Livelihoods, Rural Poverty, Pakistan
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.4 No.5,
May
31,
2016
ABSTRACT: Rural poverty is a major socio-economic issue of many of the developing
countries including Pakistan. Different strategies are being used to combat
with rural poverty including disbursement of micro-credit by different state or
non-state institutions in the country. In order to find out the impact of
micro-credit on livelihoods of rural poor in the Punjab province of Pakistan,
the present study was designed. Survey research design using mix method
approach to data collection was used. Both probability (simple random) and
non-probability sampling procedure was adopted for the selection of study
objects. The total sample size of study was 150 (both male and female recipients
of micro-credit). Descriptive (Frequency, %, mean, SD) and inferential
statistics (multiple regression) was used for the interpretation of data
through SPSS. It was concluded from the results that majority of the recipients
of micro-credit was belong to young age category (mean age 36 Years) with low
educational status. The educational level of rural women is very low compared
to men. A large majority (78.0%) of the micro-credit recipients were female
having low monthly income (119USD). Disbursement of micro-credit was one of the
major strategies to cope with the issues of rural poverty. The average loan
size as received by respondents was continuously increasing every year. In the
research area illiteracy was on the top among other reasons of poverty with
highest mean value (4.49/5.00). Majority of the respondents reported that
micro-credit had significant impact in uplifting their livelihoods. It was
suggested that micro-credit disbursement to the poor is not a sustainable
solution to reduce poverty. The state should start other income generation
activities in rural areas.