Impact of Social Capital on Poverty Reduction in Benue State Nigeria (Published)
Benue State comprises diverse communities, each facing unique socio-economic challenges including poverty. This study examined the impact of social capital on poverty reduction in Benue State, Nigeria. A survey research design was adopted for the study. Primary data was collected from 6 Local Government Areas of Benue State. Logit binary regression analysis was used to estimate variables used in the study in relation to its effect on poverty reduction. All variables tested improved Benue state poverty except political party membership and involvement. The results revealed that cooperative society participation, social media involvement, rural group membership, and social club membership has the tendency to reduce poverty by 50% to 68% in Benue State. Overall, with an R-square value of 0.870, there is a strong positive linear relationship between the variables. Social capital may reducepoverty based on community trust, social connection, and socioeconomic context. Addressing inequalities and distributing incentives equitably is crucial to improving social capital.
Keywords: Poverty Alleviation, Poverty Reduction, Social Capital
A Study on Participation in Self Help Group and Subsequent Social Capital Attainment (Published)
Researches shows that socio-economic status (SES) correlates with social capital, and groups with low SES, usually have less opportunity to advance their lives. Women’s empowerment and self-confidence are primarily determined by their resources and their ability to make social and economic decisions. Microfinance provided by self-help groups aims to empower women and create social capital. The study examines the change in socio economic status of the SHG members and its subsequent impact on the social capital by analyzing randomly collected responses of 392 SHG members from the state of Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. SPSS is employed for statistical analysis. The Mann-Whitney U test, the Kruskal- Wallis H test, and the Jonckheeree Terpstra test have been applied judiciously to test hypotheses both before and after data where ever possible.
Keywords: Micro-Finance, Social Capital, Women Empowerment, self-help groups, socio-economic empowerment
Impact of financial, social and human capital on entrepreneurial success (Published)
This paper analyzes the impact of financial, social and human capital on entrepreneurial success by examining initial investment in business, access to finance, network ties, trust in network, shared vision, education and experience as the predictors. The necessary data were collected using structured questionnaire on a sample of 118 Nepalese renewable energy enterprises having 264 respondents and analyzed through correlation and multiple regression analysis using IBM SPSS statistics 20. The study shows that the strong role played by access to finance, network ties, trust in network, education and experience while a weak role played by initial investment in business and shared vision in determining entrepreneurial success. This study is considered to be useful for biogas companies, solar companies and micro-hydro construction companies to grow their own business by focusing on the main factors affecting entrepreneurial success. The study can be further extended by incorporating other sectors of renewable energy such as, improved cooking stove, wind technology, and biomass sectors to get greater insight into the results.
Keywords: : Human Capital, Entrepreneurial success, Financial Capital, Social Capital