Crowding Out Temptation: Experimental Evidence on Savings and Health Behaviors in Kenya

Harsha Thirumurthy, Elizabeth F. Bair, Dean Yang, Teniola I. Egbe, Benard Ayieko, Julius Wesonga, Sue Napierala, Connie Celum, Mary E. Putt, Carol S. Camlin and Mark Ayallo

No 35833, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: Alcohol use, transactional sex, and gambling carry significant health and economic consequences. We conducted a randomized controlled trial in Kenya to assess whether these behaviors could be altered with a savings intervention that provided lottery-based interest, goal-setting support, and savings reminders. Over 24 months, the intervention increased formal savings and assets, financed primarily by lower spending on alcohol, transactional sex, and gambling. It also reduced hazardous drinking by 26 percent and intimate partner violence by 15 percent. HIV/STI incidence declined by 8 percent, though this was not statistically significant. Savings interventions can simultaneously boost financial security and change health behavior.

JEL-codes: I12 O15 O16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-10
Note: DEV EH
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