New research from DeReCK shows that labelled microcredit loans can increase adoption of safe toilets in India. <\/p>\n
Dr Bansi Malde<\/a> and Professor Zaki Wahhaj<\/a> were part of a team of researchers studying the\u00a0effects of providing microcredit loans labelled for sanitation on toilet uptake and usage among the households of female microfinance clients in rural India.<\/span><\/p>\n The piece published in VoxDev gives a summary of two recently published articles from the project. In the first article,\u00a0Dr Bansi Malde<\/a> and her co-authors show that the labelled sanitation loans increased the take-up and usage of safe toilets, though not all loans were converted to a toilet. In the second article,\u00a0Dr Bansi Malde<\/a>, Professor Zaki Wahhaj<\/a> and their co-authors show that both loan take-up and conversion are influenced by intrahousehold gender differences in perceptions about the costs and benefits of toilets and bargaining power.<\/span><\/p>\n \u2018Gender differences in the perceptions of the costs and benefits of toilets within the household affect the success of the sanitation loan. Households where the woman perceives a higher benefit of a toilet are more likely to take the sanitation loan. However, loans are converted to toilets only in households where the woman perceives a lower monetary cost of the toilet than the man. Moreover, we see these effects only in households where the woman has some say in decisions.\u2019 Dr Bansi Malde.<\/span><\/p>\n Read the full VoxDev<\/a> piece here.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"