THE NEXUS OF MICROFINANCE INTERVENTION AND BORROWERS' WELLBEING: DOES RELIGION MATTER?
Abstract
This paper examines the relationship between microfinance intervention and clients' wellbeing as well as the moderating role of religiosity in the relationship. To test the proposed hypotheses,primary data were collected from 192 clients from the Chittagong district of Bangladesh through a face-to-faceinterview. A quota sampling method was used to select the respondents. The questionnaire design includesa five-pointLikert scale used to explore the client's perception of their improvements under the RDS and MAB microfinance program. Multiple linear regression was employed to analyze the data.The findings show that religious motivation provided by microfinance institutes accelerates the impact of financial support on borrowers' wellbeing.The study suggests that besides financial assistance, microfinance institutions, the government, and policymakers should promote religious motivation to accelerate the borrower's wellbeing.
Keyword : Microcredit, Microfinance Institutions, Borrowers'wellbeing, Religiosity, Bangladesh.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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