| Author | Le Thi Ai Van |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.RD-00-19 |
| Subject(s) | Rural credit--Vietnam--Quang Tri
|
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | In Vietnam, rural development and poverty alleviation are primary goals of the Government since the doi moi (reform) policy was brought into effect. A National Program for Hunger Eradication and Poverty Reduction (HEPR) has been conducted by the Government since 1992. In August 1995, the Government decided to establish, as a new HEPR policy initiative, a special financial service to improve the poor households' access to credit for production and lift them out of poverty. Credit has been transferred to farmers and households through different channels. The most important suppliers have been Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (VBARD) and Vietnam Bank for the Poor (VBP). Even though there has been an impressive growth in the volume of credit from institutional sources, particularly since 1998, the shortage of credit has been a major constraint to the augmentation of economic activities of the rural poor as well as improvements in their living conditions more boardly. The policy makers have stressed the supply side of credit more than the demand side. Credit institutions are mainly concerned with the delivery of loans for production, without assessing much real credit needs of the rural poor, for consumption as well as production. Besides, savings services have generally been a neglected part of the financial services for the rural poor. In order to draw the attention of the policy-making authorities to the crucial role of financial services for development, the present study was undertaken. The general objective was to analyze the credit demand of rural poor people and examine the present ability and future scope of banking services to meet this demand, with main emphasis on VBP and VBARD. The study was conducted in Cam Lo District, Quang Tri Province. While having improved over recent years, the credit supply from the formal sector was still found to be grossly deficient. The poorest people were found to be impeded in accessing production and consumption credit from formal institutions, and relied much on the informal sector for the latter. There is a negative correlation between income level of the households and the gap between their credit wants and credit taken, reflecting less capacity on the part of the poorest people for accessing credit. An in- depth analysis of people's perceptions and opinions about formal financial services, particular banking services, was undertaken, revealing a number of factors that hinder people's access to such services. This was supplemented with a further analysis of factors impeding the effectiveness of the services provided by VBARD and VBP. A set of recommendations on aspects of policy and operation has been provided for consideration by the policy-makers and respective institutions for improving the effectiveness of the formal financial institutions in servicing the rural poor. |
| Year | 2000 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Development and Sustainability (DDS) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Rural Development, Gender and Resources (RD) |
| Chairperson(s) | Dale, Reidar; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Routray, Jayant Kumar ;Soparth Pongquan ;Amin, A. T. M. Nurul; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2000 |