Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/201705 
Year of Publication: 
2019
Series/Report no.: 
Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies Working Paper No. HEIDWP09-2019
Publisher: 
Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva
Abstract: 
Access to formal banking is increasing across the world and may transform how people manage their finances. We report from a field experiment that randomly provides access to a bank account to a representative sample of villagers in rural India. The treated respondents save actively into the account and their individual savings increase. There is, however, no signi cant impact on mean household savings nor on average expenditures, income, loans or transfers. Based on weekly data from financial diaries, we show the control households partially smooth consumption through transfers received from others. The treated households smooth consumption (and nutrition) better than the control households, thanks to pro-cyclical saving on the account. The latter result provides an important new insight into the role of banking in low and middle-income countries.
JEL: 
C93
D14
G21
O16
O12
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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