Banking the unbanked? Evidence from three countries

Arbeitspapier

We experimentally test the impact of expanding access to basic bank accounts in Uganda, Malawi, and Chile. Over two years, 17%, 10%, and 3% of treatment individuals made five or more deposits, respectively. Average monthly deposits for them were at the 79th, 91st, and 96th percentiles of baseline savings. Survey data show no clearly discernible intention-to-treat effects on savings or any downstream outcomes. This suggests that policies merely focused on expanding access to basic accounts are unlikely to improve welfare noticeably since impacts, even if present, are likely small and diverse.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: Economic Growth Center Discussion Paper ; No. 1055

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Field Experiments ; Household Saving; Personal Finance ; Banks; Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages ; Economic Development: Financial Markets; Saving and Capital Investment; Corporate Finance and Governance ; Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
• Subject: financial access ; savings ; banking ; micro-finance ; field experiment ; multicountry ; Uganda ; Malawi ; Chile

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Karlan, Dean S. ; Dupas, Pascaline ; Robinson, Jonathan ; Ubfal, Diego
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Yale University, Economic Growth Center
• (where): New Haven, CT
• (when): 2016

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/147539
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:45 AM CET