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Displaying 65-72 of 323
Adolescent boy shopping for produce with parent in Mexico

The Impact of PROGRESA on Health in Mexico

Simone Peart Boyce
Paul Gertler
Conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs are designed to incentivize parents to invest in their children's health and wellbeing, while providing cash transfers to improve their current welfare. Researchers evaluated the impact of Mexico’s national CCT program (“PROGRESA”) on a wide range of health...
People are shopping for produce from female street vendor leveraging microcredit from government to start business

Leveraging Government Transfers to Offer Low-Risk Microcredit in the Dominican Republic

Frederico Finan
Seth Garz
Paul Gertler
Sean Higgins
Despite the initial promise of microcredit, randomized evaluations have found at best modest effects of microloans on poverty. Digitized payments from government cash transfer programs provide a unique opportunity to offer microcredit while addressing some of its shortcomings, potentially reducing...
A look at livelihood approach for middle-aged woman tending to brown cow asset

Comparing Livelihood Approaches for the Ultra-Poor in Ghana

Nate Barker
Elizabeth Bradley
Gharad Bryan
Dean Karlan
Angela Ofori-Atta
Christopher Udry
The Graduation Approach, a model for holistic livelihoods programs, has been proven to have lasting impacts on poor families’ income, assets, food security, and mental health, but these programs can be expensive to implement. In Ghana, researchers are evaluating the impact of different variations of...
Person works on laptop with Philippine currency and bank card

Sensitivity to Interest Rates and Account Ownership Requirements for a Commitment Savings Account in the Philippines

Dean Karlan
Jonathan Zinman
Researchers worked with First Valley Bank in the Philippines to evaluate the impact of varying the interest rate and account ownership requirements on demand for commitment savings accounts. While savings account take-up was 23 percent, neither the interest rates nor the ownership requirements...
Person accessing cash from checking account with bank card at grocery store in Chile

Delivering Conditional Cash Transfers Through Checking and Savings Accounts in Chile

Claudia Martínez Alvear
Abhijit Banerjee
Many beneficiaries of social welfare programs around the world receive benefits in cash or by check. Can distributing welfare benefits through electronic transfers directly into bank accounts help some of these low-income individuals enter the formal financial sector? Researchers are partnering with...
A woman sells fruit in Kenya

Savings Accounts for Village Micro-Entrepreneurs in Kenya

Pascaline Dupas
Jon Robinson
Researchers offered market vendors and bicycle taxi drivers in rural Kenya the opportunity to open a savings account at no cost. The formal savings accounts increased savings, productive investments, and expenditure levels among female micro-entrepreneurs, but not among males.
Three lockboxes stacked on the grass

Saving for Multiple Goals with Lockboxes in Malawi

Shilpa Aggarwal
Valentina Brailovskaya
Jon Robinson
In Malawi, researchers offered micro-entrepreneurs either single or multiple lockboxes to evaluate the impact of the boxes on savings and other business and financial outcomes. Individuals offered multiple lockboxes saved more than those offered a single lockbox, suggesting that providing lockboxes...
Woman pushing fabric through a sewing machine

Improving Rug Firm Performance through Exporting in Egypt

David Atkin
Amit Khandelwal
Adam Osman
Researchers partnered with Aid to Artisans (ATA), a US-based nonprofit, and Hamis Carpets, an Egypt-based distributor, to provide small-scale rug manufacturers the opportunity to export to high-income countries. Offering small firms the opportunity to export rugs to high-income markets increased...