Does self help group participation lead to asset creation?

We evaluate the effect of Self Help Group participation on a long term impact parameter, namely asset creation. Indian Self Help Groups (SHGs) are unique in that they are mainly NGO-formed microfinance groups but later funded by commercial banks. The results reveal that longer membership in SHGs positively impacts asset creation, robust to various asset specifications. With longer participation in SHGs, members move away from pure agriculture as an income source towards other sources such as livestock income. Training by NGOs positively impacts asset creation but the type of SHG linkage per se has no effect. -- Asset creation ; microfinance ; impact ; Self Help Groups