Search our database of 1,200+ summaries of randomized evaluations conducted by our affiliates in 98 countries. To browse key policy recommendations from a subset of these evaluations, visit the Policy Publications tab above.

Displaying 57-64 of 77
juice vendor and group of female students

Offering Cash and In-Kind Transfers to Grow and Sustain Microenterprises in Sri Lanka

David McKenzie
Suresh de Mel
Christopher Woodruff
Researchers provided small one-time grants to microenterprises in Sri Lanka to measure the impact of the additional capital on business profits two and five years later. They found that cash and in-kind grants increased business profits for male owners in the short and long term, but did not lead to...
J-PAL logo

What Generates Growth in Microenterprises? Evidence from Sri Lanka

David McKenzie
Suresh de Mel
Christopher Woodruff
To study the employment limitation of microenterprises, researchers offered microentrepreneurs capital to incentivize them to hire workers. Results showed that a wage subsidy did not lead to lasting increases in employment sales or profits.
Woman working in a Bangladeshi garment factory.

Demand for Manufacturing Training Services in Bangladesh

Rocco Macchiavello
Atonu Rabbani
Christopher Woodruff
Researchers are partnering with the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) to identify barriers to a wider market for consulting and training in Bangladesh by offering high-quality manufacturing training services at randomly-assigned price points and covering different topics. They find...
sri-lanka_south-asia_firms_small-business-in-colombo

Does Additional Labor Benefit Microenterprises? Evidence from Sri Lanka

David McKenzie
Suresh de Mel
Christopher Woodruff
In Sri Lanka, researchers provided wage subsidies to randomly chosen microenterprises to determine if they would hire more workers, and whether the additional labor would benefit such firms. The study found that while firms increased employment during the subsidy period, there was no lasting impact...
J-PAL logo

Energy Productivity and Energy Demand: Experimental Evidence from Indian Manufacturing Plants

Nick Ryan
Seated woman showing pieces of cloth to another woman

Leveraging Business Networks to Boost Women’s Entrepreneurship

Edward Asiedu
Monica Lambon-Quayefio
Francesca Truffa
Ashley Wong
Researchers investigated the role of online networking groups (via WhatsApp) and free legal aid on improving business innovation, practices, sales, and profits among growth-oriented women-owned firms in Ghana. They found that online networking groups meaningfully encouraged business innovation...
garment workers in a factory

Foreign multinational enforcement of local workplace safety laws in Bangladesh

Laura Boudreau
A researcher partnered with the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, a consortium formed by US multinational companies, to evaluate the impact of privately enforcing local labor laws on garment factories in Bangladesh. Enforcing the legally-required creation and operation of workplace safety...
A study participant uses the tablet-based bargaining app

Providing Endowments to Improve Bargaining Outcomes for Microentrepreneurs in Ghana

Morgan Hardy
Gisella Kagy
Lena Song
Researchers randomly provided more or less cash to garment-making firm owners in Ghana before a bargaining game to evaluate the impact of endowment on the negotiated sale price of a good. Owners of garment-making microenterprises with lower household liquidity agreed to lower sale prices during the...