Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation with a bank in the Dominican Republic to compare the impact of two distinct programs: standard accounting training versus a simplified, rule-of-thumb training that taught basic financial heuristics.

Researchers partnered with Banco Agrícola to conduct a randomized evaluation that offered a way for Salvadoran migrants to directly channel some fraction of their remittances into savings accounts in El Salvador. Results indicate that a desire for control over remittance uses—in particular the fraction that is saved in formal savings accounts—was large, and had significant influence on migrants’ financial decision making. The intervention also led to a large in savings, both in the partner bank and elsewhere.

Researchers in France evaluated the impact of a series of informational meetings with education officials on parents’ involvement and their children’s behavior and performance at school. They found that parents became substantially more involved, and all children (even those whose parents were not invited to meetings) were truant less often, displayed a better attitude in class, and were less likely to be disciplined.

Researchers partnered with the consulting firm Ernst & Young to test whether providing tailors in Accra with individualized consulting, a sizable cash grant, or both can facilitate growth. Initially, tailors experimented with investments and management practices, but most learned overtime that these new business strategies were not profitable for their ventures.

Researchers compared the impact of two alternative programs, one that trained teachers how to teach the existing, abstinence-focused HIV prevention curriculum and another that subsidized education through the provision of free uniforms, on risky sexual behavior of adolescent students in upper primary school. Training teachers greatly increased teaching of the curriculum but had no effect on sexually transmitted infections (STIs) or teen pregnancy. Girls who received free school uniforms were less likely to get married, become pregnant, or drop out of school, but they were equally likely to contract an STI. The two programs combined did not reduce teen childbearing but led to a significant reduction in the risk of herpes among girls.

Career counseling for young, college-educated job seekers in France helped them find work sooner, but this improvement came at the expense of jobs for those who did not receive counseling, and it did not translate into a long-term increase in employment rates.

Researchers examined the impact of doubling teacher salary on student and teacher performance in Indonesia. This intervention had some positive effects on teachers: they reported higher levels of satisfaction with their jobs and less financial stress and were less likely to have a second job. However, doubling teacher salary had no effect on teacher knowledge, student test scores, or self-reported teacher attendance.

Researchers conducted two randomized evaluations in the health sector in Uganda to evaluate whether community monitoring could impact public health worker performance and subsequent health utilization and outcomes. They found community monitoring, when combined with information on health provider performance and user’s entitlements, led to better quality and more frequently utilized health services, and ultimately improved health outcomes. However, community monitoring alone had little impact.

This evaluation studies the effects of flexible repayment schedules on borrowers’ investment level, consumption, and loan default in the dairy industry in India.

Child marriage remains prevalent in many countries despite laws prohibiting the practice, leading to negative health and education outcomes for young women and their children. Researchers evaluated the impacts of an incentive program and an adolescent empowerment program on child marriage, teenage childbearing, and level of education in rural Bangladesh. Financial incentives conditional on delayed marriage reduced child marriage and teenage childbearing, and increased girls’ level of education. The empowerment program, on the other hand, did not succeed in delaying marriage.

Researchers tested two features of these contracts, repayment frequency and the time of the first repayment, to determine if characteristics of the loan contract affect borrowers’ repayment behavior and the types of investments they make. They found that less frequent repayments did not increase defaults. A two-month grace period before beginning repayment raised the default rate slightly but allowed entrepreneurs to invest more in their businesses, resulting in long term economic gains.

Researchers offered two days of business training and assistance in identifying a medium-term financial goal to a random sample of women of different castes and religions in India. A random sub-sample of women were invited to attend the training with a friend. Women trained with a friend doubled their demand for loans and expanded their business activity, resulting in higher household income. This impact was stronger among women from religious or caste groups with social norms that restrict female mobility.

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 evaluated the impact of a reform to the pollution audit system in India, making auditors more independent, on the truthfulness of their reporting and the behavior of the firms they audited. Increasing their independence made them more likely to report the truth about industrial plants’ pollution levels.