"We Routinely Borrow to Survive": Exploring the Financial Capability of Income-Poor People in India.

A lack of financial capability­financial opportunities and abilities­and poverty are highly interlinked. Over 65 percent of people in India are excluded from any financial services. This article explores income-poor Indians' experiences with financial capability through a qualitative study. Purposive sampling was used to collect data from 658 individuals, through focus groups (n = 566) and face-to-face interviews (n = 92). Findings show that 97 percent of respondents had the opportunity to earn an income, and 55 percent earned through financial inclusion programs, but 87 percent of respondents earned less than U.S. $2 a day. Although almost all saved and needed to borrow, 46 percent were eligible for formal savings and only 23 percent for formal loans. Financial abilities or knowledge and skills related to income, savings, and loans were higher among the few who had a stable income or had medium and high income in relation to those who had unstable and low income. Respondents experienced many challenges with their financial capabilities, including borrowing to save, fearing formal loans, and lacking clarity about loan and interest rate; banks miscalculating interest rates; and political parties influencing access to loans. Implications for social policy and social work practice are discussed.

Voicing realities and recommending reform in PRWORA.

This article represents the views of 12 women facing welfare reform under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 and 12 services providers of two state offices from a midwestern metropolitan area. The author used constructivist inquiry to understand their multiple constructions of reality associated with the "work first" provision of the law. Three aspects of work are discussed: preparation for work, nature of work, and consequences of work. The women and the services providers had some commonalities as well as differences in their perceptions about work first and their recommendations for changes. Although all the women facing reform identified some negative attributions of work first, not all services providers expressed negative views about work first. A majority of the women and a few services providers recommended that women need access to education and training to get better jobs and that they need more incentives to work. However, both groups recommended that they be included in future welfare reform decision making. Social workers need to carry these voices to the federal policymakers before this law is reauthorized in 2002.