Authors
Shilpa Aggarwal, Valentina Brailovskaya, Jonathan Robinson
Publication date
2021
Journal
The Review of Economics and Statistics
Issue
doi: https://doi.org/10.1162/rest_a_0108
Publisher
MIT Press
Description
We test whether the provision of multiple labeled savings accounts affects savings and downstream outcomes in an experiment with 761 microentrepreneurs in urban Malawi. Treatment respondents received one or multiple savings accounts, in the form of lockboxes or mobile money. We find that while providing additional boxes increased savings by 40%, technical issues marred the efficacy of a second mobile money account. Data from novel high-frequency surveys suggest that both types of accounts had impacts on downstream outcomes, including farming decisions and credit extended to customers. We do not detect differential downstream effects by the number or modality of accounts.
Total citations
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