Banking the Unbanked? Evidence from three countries

Dean Karlan, Pascaline Dupas, Jonathan Robinson and Diego Ubfal

No 11420, CEPR Discussion Papers from C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers

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.

Keywords: Financial access; Micro-finance; Multicountry; Malawi; Chile (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C93 D14 G21 O12 O16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016-07
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-afr, nep-cse, nep-dev and nep-mfd
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (28)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Banking the Unbanked? Evidence from Three Countries (2018)
Working Paper: Banking the Unbanked? Evidence from Three Countries (2016)
Working Paper: Banking the Unbanked? Evidence from Three Countries (2016)
Working Paper: Banking the Unbanked? Evidence From Three Countries (2016)
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