Determinants of Sustainability of Informal Community-Based Financial Groups: Insights from a Survival Analysis Approach

Roger Aganze, Roy Mersland, Bert D’espallier and Kjetil Andersson
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Roy Mersland: UIA - University of Agder

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Abstract: This study examines the survival factors of informal community-based financial groups in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger over the period 2014 to 2018. The results identify group size, meeting attendance, financial performance, and engagement in 'plus activities' as key predictors of savings group survival. The more efficiently funds are used and the higher the returns on savings, the more groups sustain their operations in the long run, irrespective of the absolute amount of savings per member. Similarly, active group engagement and involvement in additional non-financial activities alongside the core financial activities, also contribute to long-run survival. These findings highlight that social capital and financial efficiency should be at the forefront when designing savings-groups programs.

Keywords: Savings groups sustainability survival analysis survival factors Weibull accelerated failure time regression; Savings groups; sustainability; survival analysis; survival factors; Weibull accelerated failure time regression (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Published in The Journal of Development Studies, 2025, pp.1-23. ⟨10.1080/00220388.2025.2487014⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05221049

DOI: 10.1080/00220388.2025.2487014

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