The SME Program held its Ninth Working Group meeting at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University on October 20, 2018, in Evanston, Illinois.The meeting convened SME Program affiliates to discuss innovative research around SMEs and entrepreneurship.Presentations included: Opening remarks Dean Karlan, Northwestern University Shocking Business Aspirations: Experimental Evidence from Small-scale Entrepreneurs in a Developing Economy Patricio Dalton, Tilburg University FDI and Language Barriers Louise Guillouet, Columbia University      Management Practices and the Efficiency of Energy-Saving Investments: Evidence from Small and Medium Enterprises in China's Metalworking Industry Valerie J.

How do standard development programs compare to just giving people cash? What is the most effective and scalable way to address the challenge of child malnutrition?In Rwanda, an IPA research team aimed to answer these questions by setting cash grants as a “benchmark” for a nutrition and WASH program, and the landmark results were released in September.

From October 15-17, IPA Zambia presented at the 8th Zambia Health Research Conference, hosted by the National Health Research Authority (NHRA).The conference was organized by NHRA with support from the Ministry of Health and the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).The theme for this year's conference was "Breaking New Ground in Health Research: Moving From Results to Implementation Without Leaving Anyone Behind." Among the range of national and international researchers who presented findings, Research Associate, Aldina Mesic shared results on household savings during pregnancy (slides).