The White Paper focuses on developing a conceptual framework to explore the causal mechanisms linking WEE and DFS in great detail, reviews the current empirical evidence for each of these mechanisms, identifies challenges observed in interpreting the evidence, and highlights a set of priority questions that cut across the different research areas to be explored in the WEE-DiFine Initiative.
The conceptual framework focuses on two broad categories of mechanisms through which DFS can enhance WEE. First, DFS can improve a woman’s outside options and, thus, her bargaining power. Second, DFS can increase a woman’s ability to enact her preferences in other ways (without altering her outside options). Digital financial services can economically empower women through several pathways, some of which are discussed here.
Authors: Seth Garz; Rachel Heath; Elijah Kipchumba; Munshi Sulaiman
Year: 2020
In this experimental study, the impact of BRAC’s intervention in Uganda for the empowerment of female farmers by improving their soft skills and their aspirations will be evaluated. In addition to studying how these interventions change female farmers’ productivity, the…
Under this project, psychosocial support will be integrated into BRAC’s non-formal education program in South Sudan to assess whether this improves students’ mental health and learning outcomes using a randomized control trial (RCT) design. Existing evidence suggests that adverse childhood…
This experimental study aims to identify and characterize the role of information frictions in public procurement, considered a primary barrier to private sector development. It ultimately aims to estimate how to improve the effectiveness of public procurement in serving firm growth…
This experimental study intends to understand whether offering a path to return to formal education can improve the outcomes of young females. The study is being implemented within the study centres of BRAC’s Education, Empowerment and Life-skills for Adolescent Girls…
This experimental study intends to evaluate the desire of BRAC Uganda Bank Limited’s clients for and effects of digital repayment via mobile money. It will implement a digital repayment system that microfinance clients will be able to use. The study…
This cross-sectional analysis assessment will examine how populations in Sierra Leone, Uganda, and Tanzania respond to and cope with the profound shock to their lives and livelihoods caused by Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The objective is to generate new evidence, which…
This cross-sectional analysis assessment will involve preparation, delivery and analysis associated with household survey and focus group discussions (FGDs) across four refugee and host communities in Uganda. The World Bank will work with the office of the Prime Minister (OPM),…
This experimental study is being implemented in Masaka, Mukono, Mityana, Iganda, Mbale, Jinja, Kabarole, Kasese, and Kyenjojo districts of Uganda. It aims to assess the role of childcare services in improving women’s labour market outcomes and understand the role of…
Motivation Three billion people globally use traditional fuels such as wood, kerosene, and coal, for cooking. These fuels cause millions of untimely deaths, deforestation, and climate change. Specifically, in Ghana, air pollution from cooking is a leading contributor to death...
This study will investigate the impact of BRAC’s Ultra Poor Graduation (UPG) program on poverty, livelihood, food security, and social participation outcomes of people with disabilities and their families in Kiryandongo, Gulu, Nwoya and Oyam districts of Uganda. It also…
This study aims to investigate the barriers to women’s leadership roles in VSLAs in the Central, Western, Eastern and Northern regions of Uganda. A cross-sectional assessment in the formative phase will use a sample of 400 VSLAs to (i) analyze the…
This study aims to identify the potential to scale up a program for adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) through partnerships with the government school system (and potentially, other providers) in an after-school setting in Mityana and Mubende districts of…
A novel experimental evidence on the impacts of a randomised phase-out of an agricultural extension and subsidy programme that promotes improved inputs and cultivation practices among smallholder women farmers in Uganda. Based on a sample of 1,124 households in Uganda,…
Collusive contracting with private power plants in Bangladesh has resulted in high power prices that cost the taxpayer around U$1 billion in subsidies. The main driver of collusive contracting is the unwillingness of politically unconnected firms to engage in a…
This repository is a collection of BRAC Research and Evaluation Division (RED)’s archival documents on Economic Studies from 1989 to 2013. The reports and case studies cover a range of programs such as; BRAC’s education programme, BRAC RDP Impact Assessment Study…
This repository is a collection of BRAC Research and Evaluation Division (RED)’s archival documents on Economic Studies from 1989 to 2013. The reports and case studies cover a range of programs such as; Rural Development Programme (RDP), ultra-poor graduation (UPG),…
COVID-19 has resulted in a loss of income, livelihoods, and lives. The pandemic has taken a toll on people’s mental and physical health, exacerbated various inequalities, and has entailed profound reverberations in the home. Given the poverty profile of Bangladesh,…
This qualitative study focuses on how language, gender norms, and informality in work arrangements influence young women’s voice and agency in response to workplace sexual harassment. The findings show that sexual harassment is widespread in both formal and informal workplaces,…
This policy brief explores the perspectives of university students on workplace sexual harassment. This will help improve the youth’s perspective of inclusion in designing solutions in order to prevent workplace sexual harassment. The survey was conducted through email, Facebook, and…
This policy brief is based on research carried out in 2021 to understand young women domestic workers’ (DW) views on workplace sexual harassment (WSH) and compare their perspectives with the attitude of their fathers and husbands about their daughters/ wives…
Workplace sexual harassment is common in Bangladesh. It refrains women from entering the labour market and is also a major reason for them to drop out of work. Based on case study research with factory workers in agro-processing firms and…
Mass adult immunization for COVID-19, coupled with the urgency, is a challenge for any lower-middle-income country (LMIC) like Bangladesh. The analysis focuses on demand-side constraints early in the vaccination campaign to help gauge vaccine acceptability and potential contributing factors. Identifying…
This study utilizes the unique setting of a public procurement project in Bangladesh to understand the relationship between trust and citizen engagement in social accountability mechanisms. In this model of civic engagement, in each project site, a citizen-monitoring group is…
বাংলাদেশে কর্মক্ষেত্রে যৌন হয়রানির ঘটনা প্রতিদিনই ঘটে থাকে এবং এটাকে সাধারণ ঘটনা হিসেবে দেখা হয়। নারীদের কর্মক্ষেত্রে যোগদানে এটি একটি বড় বাধা এবং অনেক নারী এই কারণে কর্মক্ষেত্র থেকে ঝরে পড়েন। গৃহকর্মী এবং এগ্রো-প্রসেসিং কারখানায় কাজ করা নারীদের কেস স্টাডি…
On Wednesday, June 1, after nearly two days of deliberations, the seven-member jury delivered its verdict on the Depp-Heard trial: Amber Heard’s claims of being a victim of domestic violence in a Washington Post op-ed were “false,” and she had acted with “actual malice” toward her ex-husband when she wrote the article.
Advancements in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the 21st century have turned people’s dreams into reality by paving the way for new possibilities. Nations worldwide are fortifying the foundations of their economies to capitalize on this opportunity. Similarly, Bangladesh aspires to actualize the dream of “Digital Bangladesh” by leveraging the vast potential of ICT to align with Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
Development practitioners use various interventions or models to provide services to beneficiaries. For example, the ultra-poor graduation model is used to help people come out of extreme poverty. There are numerous models used by development practitioners and each one is different from the other. All these models have different goals and are designed for a specific target group. For example, a reintegration model is used for returnees and victims of human trafficking to help them get into society and find work suitable for their skills and experiences.
The WEE-DiFine team is pleased to introduce the six members that compose our advisory board! Our advisory board provides strategic advice to the WEE-DiFine team and makes funding recommendations for the Initiative. Each member of the board brings broad experience…
A philosophical divide runs across the social science landscape, along the familiar fault line between methods, or rather, the choices of method. Economists are expected to use quantitative methods. Cultural anthropologists are supposed to be ethnographers, relying on qualitative methods such as participant observation.
Girls in the classroom of the BRAC branch office Photo: Afsana Adiba BRAC Branch Office, Dhaka Dokkhin, Sylhet, Bangladesh For the last two days, I have been meeting underprivileged youths who received, or are receiving, BRAC’s skills training of various...
March 17 is an important day for Bangladesh, especially this year. It’s the birth centenary of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, as well as the National Children’s Day which is celebrated every year since 2009. Question:...
The theme for International Women’s Day in 2022 “gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow” captures the need of the hour, following the dire pronouncements in the 6th Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). It reminds...
The COVID-19 crisis has made face masks the new normal, presenting qualitative researchers with a new challenge when trying to build rapport with research participants. Dipanwita Ghosh and Dhanista Chakma share insights and strategies on conducting qualitative field research while...
With WEE-DiFine’s second RFP completed, the range of innovative topics on the intersection of digital financial services (DFS) and women’s economic empowerment (WEE) continues to grow. Encouraging cleaner cooking through DFS, maternal well-being and WEE, and the impact of smartphones...
Photo: Dhanista Chakma Respiratory infections are prevalent and pose a constant threat to society, and facemasks are one of the proven preventative measures against transmission. In several randomized control trials (RCTs), epidemiologists have found that masking up at the community...
On November 14, 2021, Mosammat Kamrunnahar, former judge of Dhaka Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-7, was suspended by the Supreme Court for remarking that rape cases should not be recorded if 72 hours have elapsed since the crime. It...
View book | View agenda While domestic violence remains pervasive across Bangladesh, the COVID- 19 crisis and resulting movement restrictions worsened existing difficulties that women faced while seeking redress from domestic violence, as access to services became even more constrained....
Click here to view the presentation slide deck (PDF) Women’s Economic Empowerment and Digital Finance (WEE-DiFine) is a research initiative aimed at generating a comprehensive body of evidence on the causal impact of digital financial services on women’s economic...
CLEAR is a two-and-half year research programme led by the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) in partnership with the BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD). A coalition of Bangladesh research partners to support the COVID-19 response CLEAR aims to...
Dr Shahaduz Zaman, Lead Researcher of the Historicizing BRAC Project, delivered a speech on the formative years of BRAC in a talk organized by BIGD to commemorate the organization's founder, Fazle Hasan Abed, on his second death anniversary. The session...
View meeting minutes On November 10, 2021, BRAC, BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), G²LM|LIC, the International Growth Centre (IGC STICERD, the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO),) organized...
View PowerPoint slides Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC) and BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD) have been jointly conducting a multi-phase study since April 2020 to capture the evolving health and economic crisis among low-income communities in Bangladesh due to...
View the PowerPoint slides Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC) and BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD) has been jointly conducting a multi-phase COVID-19 Livelihoods and Recovery Panel Survey since April 2020 to capture the changing impact of the...
BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD) and the Subir and Malini Chowdhury Center for Bangladesh Studies organized a critical discussion on the governance realities in Bangladesh and beyond, based on the recent State of Governance (SoG) report, a flagship publication of BIGD. This...
Presentation | Research Brief | Full Report COVID-19 is a global shock and has proved to be the ultimate stress test for governance capacities across the world. This impact is particularly profound in developing countries like Bangladesh, where the public...
Invite-only The State of Governance in Bangladesh Report was an annual flagship publication of BIGD that explored critical governance issues by analyzing the context and underlying dynamics and highlighting systemic strengths and weaknesses. It provided theoretical frameworks for understanding these...
Impact of COVID-19 on Procurement and Supply Chain of RMG Sector: Wahid Anwar | COVID-19 Pandemic Outbreak Impact Analysis on Footwear Sector in Bangladesh: Nur Alam The recent outbreak of COVID19 has impacted all industries and has exposed the vulnerabilities...
BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD) invited academics and scholars to participate in the International Conference on Digitalization, Institutions and Economics: New Frontiers in Service Delivery, held in Dhaka (or online depending on the pandemic scenario) in June 2022....
Bangladesh is a rapidly developing economy facing complex gender dynamics. According to the Global Gender Gap Index 2020, Bangladesh ranks 50th out of 153 countries overall in gender parity. Women in Bangladesh especially lag behind men with regard to economic…
Digital financial service (DFS) is crucial to increase the financial market participation of Bangladeshi women. Experts made the above observation at an international conference on “Digitalization and New Frontiers of Service Delivery: Opportunities and Challenges” organsied by BRAC Institute of…
Women’s Economic Empowerment and Digital Finance (WEE-DiFine) of BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD) recently discussed the role of digital financial services on women’s economic empowerment in Bangladesh at BRAC Centre in the capital. Speakers at the discussion said…
Effective use of Digital financial services (DFS) will empower women economically, stated panelists at BIGD’s international conference titled “Digitalization and New Frontiers of Service Delivery: Opportunities and Challenges” on 22 June 2022 at BRAC Inn Auditorium.
Bangladesh is a rapidly developing economy facing complex gender dynamics and according to the Global Gender Gap Index 2020, Bangladesh ranks 50th out of 153 countries overall in gender parity. Women in Bangladesh lag behind men with regard to economic…
Maheen Sultan was a part of a Roundtable Discussion organized by the American University, School of International Service titled What COVID-19 revealed about corporate accountability in the Apparel sector: Lessons from Bangladesh. Maheen Sultan spoke about documenting the impact of…
Against the background of the COVID-19 pandemic and the possible short and long term implications of the global crisis on health, the economy, and social relations, especially in developing countries, the Gender, Growth and Labour Markets in Low-Income Countries Programme (G²LM|LIC) had…
Syeda Salina Aziz and Tanvir Ahmed Mozumder presented at the 72nd PSA Annual International Conference 2022 organized by the University of York. The title of the presentation was Determinants of Civic Engagement, Political Knowledge and Ideology: Case from Bangladesh. With…
According to Germanwatch’s 2021 Global Climate Risk Index, Bangladesh is seventh on the list of countries most vulnerable to climate devastation. The report estimated that the country lost 11,450 people, suffered economic losses worth $3.72 billion, and witnessed 185 extreme…
Street vendors in Dhaka are popular for selling a wide range of goods at a lower price to customers, mostly from middle and low-income communities. They sell their products in makeshift shops set up on the sidewalks. This informal sector…
The Electronic Government Procurement (e-GP) system in Bangladesh has reduced around 1.53 lakh tonnes of possible emission of carbon, a top official of the planning ministry said today. Mohammed Shoheler Rahman Chowdhury, director general of Central Procurement Technical Unit (CPTU),…
The government is working on an e-auditing system that would enable evaluating the developmental works remotely, said officials. “It will be a e-GP-like [online government procurement] milestone. Once the system is launched, auditors would be able to assess the development…
