Researchers in Zambia found that the use of chlorine decreased with higher prices, but this decline was partially offset by better targeting of the product to families who were more likely to use it. Additionally, there was no evidence that higher offer prices screened out poorer or less educated households.

In a series of three evaluations throughout the United States, researchers evaluated the effect of group composition on individual participants’ political views. They found little evidence that the ideological and demographic complexion of the group influenced post-discussion opinions.

Researchers examined the impact of access to banking services for the first time on households in rural Kenya. While savings account and credit usage rates were low overall because of poor service quality and low levels of trust in the institutions, access to the accounts helped some households rely less on family members outside the village and support one another more within the village.

There is a growing body of evidence on the efficacy of SMS reminders to encourage banking clients to save more. Researchers in the Dominican Republic partnered with savings and credit institution Banco Unión to conduct two randomized evaluations of tailored SMS reminders.

At a community college in Fort Worth, Texas, researchers evaluated a comprehensive case management program called Stay the Course, which included mentoring and emergency financial assistance (EFA), and measured the impact of these services on students’ academic outcomes, including persistence in school, degree completion, credits earned, and cumulative GPA. They found that students who received a combination of case management and EFA services were significantly more likely to stay in school and to graduate, and that these effects were particularly pronounced for women.

Many beneficiaries of social welfare programs around the world receive benefits in cash or by check. Can distributing welfare benefits through electronic transfers directly into bank accounts help some of these low-income individuals enter the formal financial sector? Researchers are partnering with the Chilean government to evaluate how transitioning a social welfare program from cash distribution to electronic transfers impacts recipients’ access to their funds, as well as their savings and consumption decisions.

Researchers are partnering with the mayor of Carrefour, Haiti to evaluate the impact of increased provision of public goods, tax collection efforts, and public exposure of tax compliance on measures of citizen engagement like taxes, voting, and community participation.