A5084052209- Microfinance and Financial Inclusion
- Financial Literacy, Pension, Retirement Analysis
- Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare
- Banking stability, regulation, efficiency
- Housing Market and Economics
- FinTech, Crowdfunding, Digital Finance
- Income, Poverty, and Inequality
- Islamic Finance and Banking Studies
- Experimental Behavioral Economics Studies
- Economic Growth and Development
- Agricultural risk and resilience
- Entrepreneurship Studies and Influences
- Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics
- Innovation and Socioeconomic Development
- Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics
- Taxation and Compliance Studies
- Community Development and Social Impact
- Media Influence and Politics
- ICT Impact and Policies
- Urban and Rural Development Challenges
- International Development and Aid
- Corporate Finance and Governance
- Evaluation and Performance Assessment
- Economic theories and models
- Agricultural Innovations and Practices
National Bureau of Economic Research
2016-2025
Yale University
2014-2025
Kellogg's (Canada)
2014-2025
Centre for Economic Policy Research
2012-2025
Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab
2015-2025
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2011-2025
Innovations for Poverty Action
2013-2024
Northwestern University
2012-2024
United States Agency for International Development
2024
Bocconi University
2016-2024
Author guidelines for journals could help to promote transparency, openness, and reproducibility
We designed a commitment savings product for Philippine bank and implemented it using randomized control methodology. The was intended individuals who want to commit now restrict access their savings, were sophisticated enough engage in such mechanism. conducted baseline survey on 1777 existing or former clients of bank. One month later, we offered the randomly chosen subset 710 clients; 202 (28.4 percent) accepted offer opened account. In survey, asked hypothetical time discounting...
Abstract Widespread acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines is crucial for achieving sufficient immunization coverage to end the global pandemic, yet few studies have investigated vaccination attitudes in lower-income countries, where large-scale just beginning. We analyze vaccine across 15 survey samples covering 10 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) Asia, Africa South America, Russia (an upper-middle-income country) United States, including a total 44,260 individuals. find considerably...
Attacking the problem of extreme poverty A persistent concern about wellintentioned efforts to improve living standards for 1.2 billion people who survive (if it can be called that) on less than $1.25 US per day is figuring out what works. second whether works in one setting made work another. Banerjee et al. describe encouraging results from a set pilot projects Ethiopia, Ghana, Honduras, India, Pakistan, and Peru encompassing 11,000 households. Each project provided short-term aid...
Causal evidence on microcredit impacts informs theory, practice, and debates about its effectiveness as a development tool. The six randomized evaluations in this volume use variety of sampling, data collection, experimental design, econometric strategies to identify causal effects expanded access borrowers and/or communities. These methods are deployed across an impressive range locations—six countries four continents, urban rural areas—borrower characteristics, loan lender characteristics....
Abstract The investment decisions of small-scale farmers in developing countries are conditioned by their financial environment. Binding credit market constraints and incomplete insurance can limit activities with high expected profits. We conducted several experiments northern Ghana which were randomly assigned to receive cash grants, grants or opportunities purchase rainfall index insurance, a combination the two. Demand for is strong, leads significantly larger agricultural riskier...
Questions remain as to whether results from experimental economics are generalizable real decisions in nonlaboratory settings. Furthermore, questions persist about social capital helps mitigate information asymmetries credit markets. I examine behavior two laboratory games, Trust and a Public Goods, predicts loan repayments Peruvian group-lending microfinance program. Since this program relies on enforce repayment, tests the external validity of games. Individuals identified “trustworthy” by...
Journal Article Expanding Credit Access: Using Randomized Supply Decisions to Estimate the Impacts Get access Dean Karlan, Karlan Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Jonathan Zinman The Review of Financial Studies, Volume 23, Issue 1, January 2010, Pages 433–464, https://doi.org/10.1093/rfs/hhp092 Published: 28 November 2009
Most academic and development policy discussions about microentrepreneurs focus on credit constraints assume that subject to those constraints, the entrepreneurs manage their business optimally. Yet self-employed poor rarely have any formal training in skills. A growing number of microfinance organizations are attempting build human capital order improve livelihood clients help further mission poverty alleviation. Using a randomized control trial, we measure marginal impact adding Peruvian...
We conducted a field experiment to measure the effect of exposure newspapers on political behavior and opinion. Before 2005 Virginia gubernatorial election, we randomly assigned individuals Washington Post free subscription treatment, Times or control treatment. find no either paper knowledge, stated opinions, turnout in post-election survey voter data. However, receiving led more support for Democratic candidate, suggesting that media slant mattered less this case than exposure. Some...
Firms spend billions of dollars developing advertising content, yet there is little field evidence on how much or it affects demand. We analyze a direct mail experiment in South Africa implemented by consumer lender that randomized loan price, and offer deadlines simultaneously. find content significantly Although was difficult to predict ex ante which specific features would matter most this context, the do have large effects. Showing fewer example loans, not suggesting particular use for...
We provide evidence from field experiments with three different banks that reminder messages increase commitment attainment for clients who recently opened savings accounts. Messages mention both goals and financial incentives are particularly effective, whereas other content variations such as gain versus loss framing do not have significantly effects. Nor we find receiving additional late reminders has an additive effect. These empirical results map neatly into existing models, so a simple...
We conducted a natural field experiment to further our understanding of the economics charity. Using direct mail solicitations over 50,000 prior donors nonprofit organization, we tested effectiveness matching grant on charitable giving. find that match offer increases both revenue per solicitation and response rate. Larger ratios (i.e., $3:$1 $2:$1) relative smaller ratio ($1:$1) had no additional impact, however. The results provide avenues for future empirical theoretical work giving,...
Lending to the poor is expensive due high screening, monitoring and enforcement costs. Group lending advocates believe lenders overcome this by harnessing social connections. Using data from FINCA‐Peru, I exploit a quasi‐random group formation process find evidence of peers successfully enforcing joint‐liability loans. Individuals with stronger connections their fellow members (i.e., either living closer or being similar culture) have higher repayment savings. Furthermore, observe direct...
Using a high-stakes field experiment conducted with financial brokerage, we implement novel design to separately identify two channels of social influence in decisions, both widely studied theoretically.When someone purchases an asset, his peers may also want purchase it, because they learn from choice ("social learning") and possession the asset directly affects others' utility owning same utility").We randomize whether one member peer pair who chose has that implemented, thus randomizing...
A randomized controlled trial reveals both expected and surprising effects of microcredit.
This paper builds a theory of trust based on informal contract enforcement in social networks. In our model, network connections between individuals can be used as collateral to secure borrowing. We define network-based the largest amount one agent borrow from another and derive reduced-form expression for this quantity, which we then use three applications. (1) predict that dense networks generate bonding capital allows transacting valuable assets, whereas loose create bridging improves...
Despite numerous journalistic accounts, systematic quantitative evidence on economic conditions during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic remains scarce for most low- and middle-income countries, partly due to limitations of official statistics in environments with large informal sectors subsistence agriculture. We assemble from over 30,000 respondents 16 original household surveys nine countries Africa (Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, Sierra Leone), Asia (Bangladesh, Nepal, Philippines),...
Retrospective voting models assume that offering more information to voters about their incumbents’ performance strengthens electoral accountability. However, it is unclear whether incumbent corruption translates into higher political participation and increased support for challengers. We provide experimental evidence such not only decreases party in local elections Mexico, but also voter turnout the challenger party, as well erodes partisan attachments. While clearly necessary improve...
We review the recent evidence on commitment devices and discuss how this relates to theoretical questions about demand for, effectiveness of, commitment. Several important distinctions emerge. First, we distinguish between what call hard soft commitments identify commitments, in particular, can help with various dilemmas, both explaining empirical behavior designing effective devices. Second, highlight importance of certain modeling assumptions predicting when will be demanded examine...
We use a clustered randomized trial, and over 16,000 household surveys, to estimate impacts at the community level from group lending expansion 110 percent APR by largest microlender in Mexico. find no evidence of transformative on 37 outcomes (although some estimates have large confidence intervals), measured mean 27 months post-expansion, across 6 domains: microentrepreneurship, income, labor supply, expenditures, social status, subjective well-being. also examine distributional using...
We designed and tested a voluntary commitment product to help smokers quit smoking. The (CARES) offered savings account in which they deposit funds for six months, after take urine test nicotine cotinine. If pass, their money is returned; otherwise, forfeited charity. Of CARES, 11 percent took up, randomly CARES were 3 percentage points more likely pass the 6-month than control group. More importantly, this effect persisted surprise tests at 12 indicating that produced lasting smoking...
A randomized control trial with 432 small and medium enterprises in Mexico shows positive impact of access to 1 year management consulting services on total factor productivity return assets. Owners also had an increase “entrepreneurial spirit” (an index that measures entrepreneurial confidence goal setting). Using Mexican social security data, we find a persistent large (about 50 percent) the number employees wage bill even 5 years after program. We document heterogeneity specific...