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Researchers designed a field study to identify how information and communication affect intra-household decisions. They found that Filipino spouses who don't control the household spending and savings decisions deposit money into their own accounts in private settings and commit it to consumption...

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of two different performance-based incentives on students’ test scores, motivation, and behavior in Malawi. They find that tournament-style incentives that rewarded the top performers among a large group lowered test scores and student...

Researchers evaluated the impact of sharing information via street theater on voters' preferences. The study found that some types of information increased voter turnout, and some voters changed their preferences.

Researchers partnered with Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere (CARE) to evaluate the impact of VSLAs on rural households. The promotion of these groups led to an improvement in financial inclusion for participants—including, substantial increases in savings and receiving a loan...

In Malawi, researchers analyzed whether fingerprinting borrowers from a microfinance institution would have an effect on repayment rates. Using fingerprinting for loan enforcement increased repayment by 40 percent among Malawian farmers with the highest default risk.

In this study, researchers introduced report cards with child and school test scores to evaluate the impact on public and private schools’ cost, performance, and enrollment. The program reduced private school fees, improved test scores, and increased primary school enrollment.

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)...

Researchers provided payday borrowers in the United States information about the true costs of payday loans in order to find out whether they would respond by changing their demand for the product. Better informed individuals reduced their demand significantly, suggesting that getting consumers to...