Displaying 3196 - 3210 of 7554
Evaluation
Promoting High Impact Entrepreneurship in Mexico
A lack of access to finance can impede the potential for growth among small firms. To meet this finance gap and to encourage high-growth entrepreneurship, governments and multilateral agencies throughout the developing world often directly fund small and medium enterprises. Governments, however, have little guidance when it comes to choosing the firms with growth potential, and making sure that limited funds are targeted where they will spur the most growth. In Mexico, researchers are evaluating the impact of providing government funding to small enterprises, and whether different types of selection panels are more effective at selecting firms with high growth potential.
Evaluation
Sending Reminders to Improve Tax Filing Decisions Among Low-Income Individuals in the United States
This study examines how reminders to file taxes affect tax filing decisions among low-income individuals who did not appear on a filed tax return. The results of two randomized evaluations demonstrate that one-time reminders increase tax filing—both to claim tax refunds as well as to voluntarily pay balances owed to the IRS.
Evaluation
The Impact of a Simple Savings Device on Meeting Planned and Unplanned Expenses in Niger
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of a savings lockbox, or SMS reminders, on household saving, spending, and the ability to cope with negative shocks in rural Niger. Take-up and usage of the lockbox were high, and while the lockbox intervention did not affect overall saving or spending, it helped households cope with the negative effects of a health shock. Conversely, there were no additional effects of the SMS reminders.
Evaluation
Encouraging the Use of Formal Financial Services of Garment Workers through the Rollout of an Electronic Payment System in Bangladesh
Researchers randomly assigned employees at garment factories in Bangladesh to either continue collecting their wages in cash, receive direct deposit wage payments into a payroll account, or receive an account but continued to receive wage payments in cash. Exposure to payroll accounts led to increased account use, consumer learning, savings, and trust in mobile banking.
Evaluation
The role of information, accountability and resource gaps in explaining poor urban services quality in Addis Ababa and its rapidly urbanizing surroundings
In partnership with the Ethiopian Development Research Institute (EDRI), researchers are providing report cards that document citizen satisfaction with a range of public services to various levels of government officials to measure the impact of information and accountability on public service provision.
Evaluation
Participatory Development and Social Preferences: Experimental Evidence from Bangladesh
Researchers are conducting a lab-in-the-field study to measure the impact of a community-driven development program in Bangladesh on participants’ preferences and values about fairness, equity, civic engagement, and participatory decision-making.
Evaluation
Encouraging Carpooling in Malaysia and Singapore
Traffic is a significant concern in many rapidly developing and urbanizing countries, as it contributes to increased commute times, pollution, and fuel consumption. One solution to this challenge could be ride-sharing to reduce the number of cars on the road. In Malaysia and Singapore, researchers are partnering with a mobile ride-sharing service to test different pricing and information strategies to increase carpooling.
Evaluation
Providing Female Garment Workers with Soft Skills Training for Professional Advancement in Bangladesh
By comparing the impacts of soft skills training, a combination of soft and hard skills training, and no training, researchers seek to determine whether soft skills training alone is an effective and efficient way to increase the numbers of promotions offered to women and prepare women to be strong supervisors.
Evaluation
Donating Time for Democracy: Encouraging Citizen Participation in Electoral Work in Mexico
In this study, researchers are partnering with the national electoral authority to test a range of policy interventions designed to ultimately improve poll workers’ attendance during the 2017 state elections.
Evaluation
The Impacts of Gender Norms and Women’s Relationship Status on Career Ambitions in the United States
Researchers evaluate whether single women exhibit these tendencies in an elite US MBA program by testing whether students reported different ambitions privately and publicly, or if their responses varied when the audience was largely male. Researchers found that when they expected their answers to be shared, single women reported wanting US$18,000 less in annual compensation, jobs with less frequent travel, and work with fewer hours per week than when they thought their answers would be private.