Youth Skill Development Loans (YSDL) and Good Governance in Bangladesh: A Logit Model Analysis

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study is to explore the nature and role of the Youth Skill Development Loans (YSDL) in the generation of livelihoods activities for the youth community of Bangladesh under the Women’s Empowerment and Livelihood Development “Nuton Jibon”. The study is significant for a couple of reasons. First, our literature review shows a dearth of research on the youth beneficiaries of the project. Second, there is a ‘youth bulge’ in Bangladesh, a developing economy experiencing the demographic dividend. The default issue in the YSDL is largely ignored. We have, therefore, examined the YSDL utilization status of 105 youths by using the logit model. The results reveal that the size of the loan, due amount of payment and education are significant factors to determine whether the youth would be a loan defaulter or regular payer. In essence, it is vital to enhance the overall capacities and skills of the rural youths.

KEY WORDS:

• Bangladesh
• Community- Driven Development Approach (CDD)
• good governance
• microfinance
• rural development
• rural youths
• Social Development Foundation (SDF)
• sustainable livelihoods framework
• women’s empowerment
• Youth Skill Development Loans (YSDL)

JEL:

• G 21
• O12
• O16
• O 18

Acknowledgments

Saleh Shahriar presented an earlier draft of the paper at the 2018 International Finance and Accounting Conference, entitled, Ten Years after the Financial Crisis: New Opportunities and Challenges for Emerging Markets, held at the Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China, September 14-16, 2018. He is grateful to the panel of experts and the participants for providing their valuable feedbacks and comments on the draft. The authors are, however, thankful to the anonymous reviewers and the Editor-in Chief for offering their constructive comments made on an earlier version of the work.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grants No. 71673223 and 71473197). We declare that we have no conflict of interest. The first author also would like to thank the China Scholarship Council (CSC) for the financial support.