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Researchers assessed the impact of financial incentives and peer endorsement on mobile banking adoption and formal savings in Ghana. While financial incentives boosted adoption by 50 percent, peer endorsement was twice as effective, leading to sustained mobile banking use and a 30 percent increase...

Researchers used two randomized evaluations to identify whether the motive for giving in public can be primarily linked to a desire for prestige (the “image” effect) or a hope that a public gift will influence others (the “signal” effect). They found that a desire to improve social image largely...

Researchers randomly evaluated whether well-timed access to credit would allow maize farmers in Kenya to make better use of storage and sell their output at higher prices. The loan offers allowed farmers to store more maize and earn higher revenues, with larger revenue impacts for farmers granted...

Researchers are conducting a randomized evaluation to measure a major preschool construction program underway in Morocco.

Researchers examined the effects of free savings account access on savings account use, indebtedness, consumption, and well-being. Easy access to savings accounts reduced participants’ reliance on borrowing, helped them manage fluctuations in income, and increased their self-reported well-being.