Associational Participation and Network Expansion for Poor Women in Rural India
Davidson and Sanyal (2017) explored whether women who participate in SHGs have larger social networks than non-participants in 75 villages in Karnataka, India. Using household survey data, descriptive analyses showed that SHG participants, despite being more socioeconomically disadvantaged than non-participants, had significantly more incoming ties from nonkin than both non-participant women and men. SHG participation allows women to form new relationships with other women outside their kinship group. This “associational mechanism” improves their access to resources and increases their social capital. Women SHG members do not need to borrow men’s social capital; they are increasing their networks through their own connections and can therefore access resources unmediated by men. Such resources stem from vital socio-economic exchanges, including borrowing and lending money, fuel, and rice, and the exchange of advice on personal matters.