Research Paper or Working Paper is the culmination of a research process and critical thinking. Here, we present our findings of primary research, surveys, and/or literature review in a format that is mostly found in academic papers. These may take us several months to produce and may involve a slow pace and deliberate reflection by the researchers.
In the paper, we lay out a theoretical frame for thinking about microfinance crises. The theoretical frame draws from Hyman Minsky’s 1977 work on financial instability, and layers over it a cultural reasoning that recognises overlending and overborrowing as cultural traits that sometimes takes hold of microfinance markets.
The objective of this paper is to draw attention to those aspects of the lives of Low-Income Households (LIHs) that aren’t related to their income. In doing so, the paper characterises LIHs from a social capital perspective, highlighting the maintenance and strengthening of social capital as a deep-rooted cultural trait that is central to meaning-making in the lives of LIHs.
This paper traces the historical evolution of TSP in social protection discourse and argues that TSP rests on an incomplete diagnosis of poverty and inequality that underestimates the role of a hyper‑financialised global economy.
By studying people’s instinctive, unguided ‘trust-decisions’, we hope to uncover their mental models of trust. More specifically, we aim to (i) articulate the expectations that customers have of trustworthy lenders, (ii) help lenders design their products in a manner consistent with the customer's expectations, and (iii) translate these principle-level expectations into processes that lenders may adopt in their customer service to become trustworthy.
In this paper, we aim to identify the challenges and opportunities in financing regenerative agriculture within the context of smallholder farming in India and offer suggestions for enhancing the financing of regenerative agriculture in the country.
In this paper, we take a look back at 30 months of action research work and reflect on the process, the hurdles overcome, and the lessons learned. Unlike our usual publications, this one is a meta-reflection on the method of action research. We hope it will be useful for other organizations like ours that are doing this kind of work and to funders who fund it.
How can finance be designed and structured for agriculture, farmers, agricultural households, agrarian communities and the larger economy so as to ensure economic equity, social well-being, and environmental sustainability?
This paper aims to document the unique characteristics of the financial lives of low-income households in India. It focuses on the intra-year fluctuations in income that are faced by these households owing to the precarity of their occupations.
The 2016 Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) is a landmark legislation with the potential to impact every borrower. This paper focuses on Part III of the IBC, which deals with natural persons, proprietorships, and personal guarantors for corporate debt. Through the paper, we attempt to estimate the potential consequences of the Fresh Start Process (FSP) defined under this Part. The IBC lays out economic criteria that can qualify (or disqualify) an applicant for FSP. Under FSP, a borrower must be asset-lite, have a low income, and hold minimal outstanding debt to qualify. These thresholds determine the applicability of the process once the IBC is fully notified. Thus, empirical estimates regarding the effects of the provisions on the Indian credit market are crucial to deciphering the impact of the IBC, more specifically, the FSP.
Governments and lenders provide loan moratoria to help struggling borrowers, particularly during an economic crisis. While it can provide relief to borrowers, such a policy also has a possibility of inducing moral hazard among the beneficiaries.
In all our research efforts, we strive to maintain an independent voice that speaks for the low-income household and household enterprises. Our ability to perform this function is significantly enhanced by our commitment to disseminate as a pure public good, all the intellectual capital that we create.
