Gender participation and financial sector development in Madagascar : the Caisse d"Epargne

This study assesses the use of gender-disaggregated data by a formal sector financial savings institution -- the National Postal Savings Bank of Madagascar, known as the Caisse. The study documents how the Caisse was selected as a component of a sectoral policy reform program by USAID; describes the political economic environment in Madagascar prompting the need for macroeconomic reform measures by the World Bank in the late 1980s and the formulation of a financial sector program by the early 1990s; and details the design and implementation of USAID"s Financial Market Development program, initiated in 1993. The study offers tentative comments about how gender-specific components were inserted into the sectoral reform program and the extent to which such concerns have rendered the program more effective. Includes bibliography and a discussion of the relation of the Caisse to USAID/Madagascar"s overall development strategy. (Author abstract, modified)