Abstract
Economic growth and prosperity of states depend upon women's contribution to the economy since women form half of the world's population. Ownership and best utilization of (non)financial resources lead to the emancipation of women through successful economic empowerment. Lack of facilitation in terms of availing the resources leads to redundancy of women empowerment programs. However, microfinance programs by financial institutions act as a key strategy in empowering women hence, addressing the economic growth and development. The relationship of microfinance and women empowerment is not linear, rather many economic, social, psychological and political factors affect it. This study tries to investigate the relationship of microfinance with women empowerment, with the moderation role of household support and entrepreneurship in district of Jhelum, Pakistan. A quantitative approach was used to measure and interpret the results of the study. Primary data was collected from 315 respondents through self-administrated questionnaire, analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) using SMART PLS. The findings of the study support the hypothesized positive relationship of availability of microfinance and women empowerment. The results also provided evidence of the moderation effect of household support and entrepreneurship. The results of the study can aid in policy development by the government, policymakers, NGOs, and microfinance institutions in Pakistan.
Keyword(s)
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