Finance
Policy insight
Microcredit: Impacts and promising innovations
Findings on the impacts of microcredit continue to evolve. Early evidence from randomized evaluations in low- and middle-income countries showed that the classic microcredit model did not lead to transformative impacts on income or consumption for the average borrower across many contexts. However...
Evaluation
Information Campaigns to Increase Mobile Banking Adoption in Ghana
In Ghana, researchers worked with a bank that provides services to low-income customers with limited access to mainstream banking to evaluate the impact of sending pre-recorded informational voice calls and text messages on the adoption of mobile banking. Clients that received messages encouraging...
In the news
Digital wages can make fintech inclusive
A study conducted by J-PAL affiliate Emily Breza in Bangladesh found that paying low-earning manufacturing workers digitally through a mobile banking service helps them improve their spending habits and gain more trust in banking systems while allowing them to learn more about finance technology.
Evaluation
Flexible Loan Contracts for Microentrepreneurs in Bangladesh
In Bangladesh, researchers partnered with BRAC to evaluate the impact of repayment flexibility in loan contracts for microentrepreneurs. Repayment flexibility benefited traditional microfinance borrowers primarily through the provision of insurance, enabling riskier investments at lower default...
