Welfare Interventions for the Rural Poor: Comparing Microcredit Provision by Local Institutions in India.

The paper shall compare the experience of a non government organization, government department and a private agency implementing microcredit programs in three respective states in south India. It is based on field research in three villages from each state, located where their borders converge. The villages share a similar socioeconomic background, making it easier to isolate extraneous influences over the beneficiaries. It will identify who is targeted to create microcredit groups, how benefits of group membership are distributed, and then examine why differences have emerged. It will conclude by identifying characteristics of institutions that matter to alleviate poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]