Arbeitspapier

Household decision making and savings impacts: further evidence from a commitment savings product in the Philippines

Commitment devices for savings could benefit those with self-control as well as familial or spousal control issues. We find evidence to support both motivations. We examine the impact of a commitment savings product in the Philippines on household decision making power and selfperception of savings behavior, as well as actual savings. The product leads to more decision making power in the household for women, and likewise more purchases of female-oriented durable goods. We also find that the product leads women who appear time-inconsistent in a baseline survey to self-report being a disciplined saver in the follow-up survey. For impact on savings balances, we find that the 81% increase in savings after one year did not crowd out savings held outside of the participating bank, but that the longer-term impact over two and a half years on bank savings dissipated to only a 33% increase, which is no longer statistically significant. We discuss reasons why the effect dissipated and the implications for designing and mplementing sustainable, equilibrium-shifting interventions.

Language
Englisch

Bibliographic citation
Series: Center Discussion Paper ; No. 939

Classification
Wirtschaft
Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
Micro-Based Behavioral Economics: Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making‡
Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
Economic Development: Financial Markets; Saving and Capital Investment; Corporate Finance and Governance
Subject
Savings
microfinance
female empowerment
household decision making
commitment

Event
Geistige Schöpfung
(who)
Ashraf, Nava
Karlan, Dean S.
Yin, Wesley
Event
Veröffentlichung
(who)
Yale University, Economic Growth Center
(where)
New Haven, CT
(when)
2006

Handle
Last update
10.03.2025, 11:45 AM CET

Data provider

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Object type

  • Arbeitspapier

Associated

  • Ashraf, Nava
  • Karlan, Dean S.
  • Yin, Wesley
  • Yale University, Economic Growth Center

Time of origin

  • 2006

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