High Hopes: Experimental Evidence on Financial Inclusion and the Transition to High School in Kenya

James Habyarimana and William Jack

Economic Development and Cultural Change, 2024, vol. 72, issue 3, 1189 - 1212

Abstract: We report results of a randomized controlled trial in which parents of final-year primary school students were encouraged to open a mobile phone–based bank account. Being offered access to the account induced a 5–6 percentage point increase in the probability of transitioning to high school, or a nearly 40% increase among compliers. This impact is driven in part by changes in financial behavior—parents save and/or borrow more and accumulate resources consistent with the observed increase in enrollment. Behavioral attention constraints do not appear to bind, as reminder text messages had no discernible impacts on financial behavior or enrollment decisions.

Date: 2024
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