Also inside: ATM cards & savings | Positive impacts of health service study | Impact of loans & training in Uganda

Also inside: ATM cards & savings | Positive impacts of health service study | Impact of loans & training in Uganda

PHOTO CREDIT: WILL BOASE     

 

What Data Can Do to Fight Poverty


IPA's Executive Director Annie Duflo and Founder Dean Karlan write in the New York Times Sunday Review section about "What Data Can Do to Fight Poverty." They use examples from Uganda and Zambia to talk about how sometimes data leads us to different conclusions than our intuitions might. READ MORE

 

 

 

 

STUDY

 

Transaction Costs, Bargaining Power, and Savings Account Use

 

The transaction costs associated with opening, maintaining, and withdrawing funds may be a barrier to using formal savings accounts for low-income individuals. Couples in Western Kenya were offered the opportunity to open individual or joint bank accounts, and a subsample of accounts were randomly selected to come with a free ATM card. Results show that providing ATM cards significantly increased the use of savings accounts owned by men and joint accounts. READ MORE

 

 

 

 

STUDY

 

Improving Health Service Delivery Through Community Monitoring and Non-Financial Awards in Sierra Leone

 

In this study, a bottom-up community monitoring intervention aimed at improving the quality of healthcare had large, positive impacts: children under five saw a 44 percent reduction in wasting one year after the intervention began; pregnant women in the catchment area were 10 percent more likely to have delivered their babies at a government clinic; and households were 27 percent less likely to have paid illegal fees to the clinics. In response to the positive findings, the government of Sierra Leone is planning to scale-up community monitoring nationwide. READ MORE

 

 

 

 

EVENT

 

Handwashing Innovation Summit

 

IPA is organizing a handwashing summit that will bring together researchers, policymakers, and different handwashing actors to discuss innovative handwashing systems. The focus of this event will be to present various handwashing technologies, share handwashing station innovation ideas, discuss lessons from the field, and explore potential areas of collaboration between the various organizations. READ MORE