Evaluations

Researchers in Kenya issued a questionnaire to firms which may have made lost sales and profits due to poor change management became more salient. A second intervention more explicitly emphasized the costs of having insufficient change. Highlighting the importance of carrying correct change helped...

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are thought to be important drivers of growth in developing economies, but entrepreneurs in these countries face many barriers, including poor access to training, finance, and business networks. In Colombia, Fundación Bavaria’s “Destapa Futuro” (Open the Future)...

In northern Uganda, researchers found that free distribution of three health products led to lower demand for the same products when they were later offered for sale, highlighting the importance of product characteristics in determining pricing policy.

Researchers are working with Innovations for Poverty Action to study the effects of behavioral "nudges" that encourage teachers to enroll in loan forgiveness programs on program enrollment, teacher retention, and household finance.

Entrepreneurs in developing countries face a number of barriers to expanding their businesses and employing more workers, including limited access to credit and other financial services. In Colombia, researchers are investigating whether a regulatory reform that allows small and medium enterprises...

In Ethiopia, researchers tested whether linking microcredit and family planning services could increase contraceptive use more than either program in isolation. Neither the linked program nor the isolated programs had any detectable impact on contraceptive awareness, use, or intention to use.

In India, researchers randomly assigned microfinance clients to monthly or weekly meeting schedules to test whether more frequent meetings could build social capital. They found that weekly meetings lead to higher levels of social interaction that continued beyond the initial loan cycle, which...

Researchers randomized the suggested contribution in a fundraising appeal sent to patrons of the Bavaria State Opera (Germany). They found that the suggestions increased the average donation while decreasing the participation rate, resulting in no significant change in the average return per mailing...