The debate surrounding around the issues with financing higher education is primarily because ‘education’ is considered to be a quasi- public good. It is a public good because the benefits out of it largely affect society through human capital formation … Read More
Blogs
How is Higher Education Financed in India?
Within the economics literature, education is considered to be one of the classic public goods (Grace, 1989). Public good is a good where benefits of engaging in the activity are accrued not just to the individual, but to society at … Read More
HiH Self-Help Group Training – Dreaming Big!!
I recently attended a self-help group (SHG) training session organised by Hand in Hand (HiH). Before getting into the specifics, let me give you a little more insight into the training sessions provided by HiH. HiH is an NGO which … Read More
Informally Successful? – A Fish-seller's Tale
Here is an interesting tale of savings from a fish-seller I have known for quite some time. His reliance on informal savings is interesting as it has helped him supplement not only his livelihood but also enhance it further. Earlier, … Read More
Data vs Ideology – What Works for the Poor?
Nate Silver –the man who challenged American political pundits to follow math– not their guts. I might sound full of pride- but this is probably that time when all researchers are probably finding some Nate Silver in themselves. Picture … Read More
To Commit or not to Commit: Perspectives from a Research Paper
As part of the savings month, we at CMF have also been reading and discussing various academic papers. Last week, I happen to lead the discussion on a paper that dealt with the aspect of commitment savings. Given that farmers … Read More
Improving Public Welfare Programs Through Village Participation
In my last post, I raisedquestions about the measures to reduce corruption in a program of immense scale like MNREGA. This week, I want to shift the focus a little by trying to point out where exactly one form of … Read More
Shanti’s Savings Story – Moving from Informal Finance to Formal Finance
Picture Credit: http://www.openthemagazine.com/ My name is Shanti and I live in 15 kms outside Varanasi. I have a small family with 3 children – Ruby who is 8, Rahul who is 7, and Rishu who is 1.5 years of age. … Read More
Why can’t Saraswati Save? Understanding her Dilemma!
Saraswati- an urban maid making Rs. 7,000/ month dreams of sending her children to college one day. Whenever asked why she is working, she proudly replies, “so that my children get better education”- yet- she fails to save a lump … Read More
Who are We Saving? What are We Saving?
“I don’t earn enough to save!”, “I have too many debts!”, “I think savings require a huge amount to be set aside”. How often do one come across these statements? In my experience as well as from what I have … Read More