Modeling Measuring the Effects of Microcredit on Social Welfare in Rural Areas(A Case Study of Barkat Foundation's Job Creation Projects)

The importance of employment from the economic, political and social dimensions, especially in rural areas, has caused policymakers to pay more attention to the provision of facilities and human capital in order to develop entrepreneurship in economic activities, with an emphasis on raising the income of the low- and middle-income classes, in paragraph one of the resistance economy policies. to be placed Based on this, the Barkat Foundation started microcredits necessary for the establishment of employment and its development in rural areas in order to increase welfare since 2017. The research method of the current study is descriptive-analytical, and in order to answer the question, has microcredit had an effect on social welfare in rural areas? has been compiled. In this regard, the five main components of social welfare, including investment environment, economic quality, social capital, health and personal freedom and safety, were identified by experts and specialists based on the Delphi and consolidated methods and categorized into 30 items. Then the validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by elites and experts and its reliability was confirmed by Cronbach's alpha coefficient. In order to verify the research model, the structural equation model was used. By using the structural equation model and with the help of first and second order confirmatory factor analysis, the validity of the main model and the research questions were tested. The research results indicate that the fit of the model was good and acceptable. Also, based on the t-test, the effectiveness of microcredits on each of the components of social welfare was confirmed.