Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/147539 
Year of Publication: 
2016
Series/Report no.: 
Economic Growth Center Discussion Paper No. 1055
Publisher: 
Yale University, Economic Growth Center, New Haven, CT
Abstract: 
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.
Subjects: 
financial access
savings
banking
micro-finance
field experiment
multicountry
Uganda
Malawi
Chile
JEL: 
C93
D14
G21
O16
O12
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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