Building on an earlier study in Uganda, researchers are working with Innovations for Poverty Action to measure the impact of radio programming on gender-related attitudes and behaviors.

Saving money and borrowing money are often thought of as two very different financial behaviors. However, in many low- and middle-income countries people may use these products for the same reasons. The National Rural Support Programme in Pakistan and researchers randomly offered female microfinance customers a commitment savings product or a credit product three times over the course of three weeks to test how the design of the financial product impacted take-up. They found that many women had an interest in making a large lump-sum purchase or investment, but simultaneously struggled to save. More than half of women used both a savings product and a credit product over the course of the three weeks, suggesting the two are used interchangeably.

The Government of Telangana is partnering with researchers to determine the impact of restoring water tanks for irrigation on water management, agricultural output, and farmers’ income.

Researchers are evaluating the impact of a conditional cash transfer and community worker program on beneficiary wellbeing.

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of a cell phone-based monitoring system on the delivery of government-issued payments for farmers in Telangana, India. The system significantly improved the likelihood of farmers ever receiving their payments as well as receiving them on time, indicating improved performance by on-the-ground service providers in delivering payments to farmers.

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation of job fairs in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to test the effect of face-to-face interactions between formal firms and job seekers on workers’ chances of getting a job.

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to determine the impact of job training and counseling programs on youth employment in Egypt. The job training programs improved labor market outcomes such as employment rates and income, and sometimes had a positive impact on non-labor market outcomes such as empowerment. However, the addition of counseling did not increase these positive impacts.

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to determine the impact of job matching, job training, and counseling programs on youth employment in Egypt. The job training programs improved labor market outcomes such as employment, particularly for women. However, the intervention did not have a significant impact on non-labor market outcomes in the short term.

Researchers are partnering with the Punjab Commission on the Status of Women to evaluate the impacts of a training program for registrars on their knowledge of and adherence to the law.

Researchers partnered with Thomson-Reuters to evaluate whether receiving information through SMS messages generated economic benefits for farmers in India. Results showed no effect of the intervention on prices, crop losses, or cultivation practices. However, increased access to information seems to have influenced the places where farmers decided to sell their output.

Researchers are partnering with the Government of the Dominican Republic to introduce a custom tablet application to prospective students on what tertiary education programs, scholarships, and funding options exist based on their interests and finances, as well as employment rates and earnings potential by university and major

In many countries, there has recently been an increased interest in targeting labor market programs to unemployed persons who would benefit the most from them. Researchers evaluated the impact of providing a statistical targeting system to case workers in government employment agencies on their choice of labor market programs for jobseekers. Results showed that caseworkers largely ignored the statistical information provided by the targeting system, and that offering this information did not have any impact on their choice of program.

In South Africa, researchers partnered with Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator to evaluate the impact of providing information about a job seeker’s skills on job seekers’ beliefs, search effort, and employment outcomes. Providing information to job seekers and prospective employers increased participants’ employment and earnings. Job seekers updated their beliefs and strategies for job search, and employers received information they valued.

Researchers are evaluating the impact of an innovative mobile phone-based digital finance program on loan repayment rates, investment decisions, savings, and use of other financial services, as well as agricultural yields and profits.