http://ir.library.sust.edu:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/92 Thu, 07 May 2026 11:52:05 GMT 2026-05-07T11:52:05Z http://ir.library.sust.edu:8080/xmlui/handle/sust/219 Understanding the Effectiveness of BRDB in the Alleviation of Rural Poverty: A Study Chowdhury , Mohammad Shahjahan The thesis explores the effectiveness of Bangladesh Rural Development Board (BRDB) in rural poverty reduction. The BRDB poverty reduction programs have been transformed from a sustainable model commonly known as Comilla Model to a global architecture of development by adopting microfinance as anti-poverty tool, a part of neoliberal hegemony. Qualitative case study design was adopted for the study. The data were collected utilizing multi-method data collection techniques i.e. in-depth interview, focus group discussion, key informants’ interview and documentary evidences. The data were collected from the BRDB’s beneficiaries, non-beneficiaries and staffs. The study adopted a Foucauldian perspective of neoliberal governmentality where individual is held responsible for his/her welfare by overlooking structural factors and enforcing direct and indirect mechanisms for controlling individuals. The study also analyzed the organizational practice of the BRDB in the implementation of microfinance program in the light of Lipsky’s street level bureaucracy. The study reveals that the BRDB’s microfinance conditionalities are less poor oriented. The BRDB’s adopted model is inappropriate for beneficiaries in terms of loan amount, disbursement time and procedure. The loan amount is too tiny to invest in productive investment. Moreover, disbursement time and procedures are not designed in keeping mind of the need of the beneficiaries. Secondly, group liability approach in practice becomes individual liability and individuals are to pay price for that. The individuals are liable for ensuring repayment of the members and compel to repay defaulter’s due loan. Thirdly, although the BRDB operates cooperative society, the societies work as a mechanism of surveillance in ensuring repayment. The beneficiaries are unaware of the principles and benefits of cooperative society. In addition, the cooperative societies are dominated by better-off individuals and they also do not always follow democratic decision making. Fourthly, the saving and share work as instrument of disciplining the beneficiaries instead of capital accumulation. The beneficiaries keep saving to receive loan and the BRDB takes saving as collateral. The BRDB adjusts beneficiaries saving and share in case of default loan in any group. viii Finally, the skill development has become individual responsibility as more concern is now being paid to cost recovery and training is given less priority. Earlier studies failed to ascertain the broader poverty policy and structural factors responsible for financial inclusion. Additionally, some studies argued that non-profit oriented MFIs have greater outreach than profit oriented MFIs. The study reveals that even the non-profit MFIs could not reach to the poorest through adoption of neoliberal governmentality. The study found that neoliberal policy of market solution of poverty problem provides a financial market for the better off instead of poor. The previous scholarships failed to demonstrate how neoliberal governmentality has created an unfavorable environment on microfinance participants and street level bureaucrats as individuals, which deters outreach to poor. The study shows how imposing neoliberal policy of individual responsibility deters outreach by overlooking structural factors. The structural forces are dominant in organizing cooperative society, screening and inclusion of members, and women participation in microfinance. The structural forces which shape microfinance outreach include class, gender, kinships, patriarchy and administrative hierarchy. Cooperative society members allow an individual to become member based on kin relationships and repayment capability. Female inclusion as beneficiaries is used as a matter of convenience both by their male family members and by the BRDB staffs. The BRDB’s structure imposes all burdens on individual through adoption of self-sustainability. The beneficiaries are to bear the cost of microfinance operation which deters the BRDB’s microfinance outreach to poor. Thus, structural forces shape inclusion process as ‘technologies of domination’ and narrows down the route for poor to emerge as participants. This study also examined the institutional practice of the BRDB in microfinance operation. The study found that the BRDB microfinance program is incompatible with the institutional practice as it follows performance management tactic of NPM along with traditional bureaucratic practice. The performance management is constrained by organizational factors (such as organizational context and climate as well as personal ix values and motivation of employee). The BRDB staffs use both prescribed and un- prescribed coping mechanism to adopt in the environment, which take themselves away from defined policy goals. The organizational factors include performance management, practice of simplification, structural arrangement, project orientation, motivation and coordination. Although, the success of poverty reduction through ‘numbers’ has been achieved, this does not account for unmeasured aspects of success. Consequently, the BRDB has been facing multiple problems in microfinance operation, which include goal displacement, demotivation and segregated project implementation. Therefore, the adoption of neoliberal tools of NPM has derailed the BRDB from its mission of poverty alleviation and these tools are being used as survival tactics for the BRDB and serving better-off. The study generates new insight regarding microfinance which was largely overlooked by earlier studies of impact analysis. The study reveals that microfinance is not a panacea which can be implemented indiscriminately as antipoverty program. Policy makers may take measure based on the felt need of the poor and rethink about structural forces which determines poor’s participation in microfinance program. Moreover, ignoring organizational practice may jeopardize reform initiatives in the organizations, which are working for the poor. Therefore, an integrative service delivery framework should be developed to enable overcoming multiple hurdles face by poor regarding their health, education and skill development along with flexible financial service. Thesis submitted to the department of Social Work, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, for the partial fulfillment of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Mon, 01 Jul 2019 00:00:00 GMT http://ir.library.sust.edu:8080/xmlui/handle/sust/219 2019-07-01T00:00:00Z