The Zambia Financial Diaries is a year-long panel study that collects data each week on all transactions performed by respondents - all sales and purchases, income earned from informal or formal labor, uses of financial tools, and exchanges of in-kind goods. The purpose of the study is to develop...

Comprehensive research on microfinance and subsidy shows that virtually all microfinance institutions are subsidized, but these subsidies are small. There are two clear paths for increasing microcredit’s impact through continued investment: » Lowering the cost of microcredit by lowering...

The report’s primary aim was to analyze the existing microfinance industry in the United States from the point of view of its ability to scale up services to the underserved (the working poor) and its sustainability, i.e., its ability to operate such that MFIs cover all of their operating costs,...

The microfinance industry began with the intent to help poor clients help themselves. That’s one reason so many microfinance institutions have embraced the Smart Campaign, which strives to embed a set of client protection principles into the fabric of the microfinance sector. This synthesis...

Micro-entrepreneurs often lack the financial literacy required for the complex financial decisions they face. This research study conducts a randomized control trial with a bank in the Dominican Republic to compare the impact of two distinct programs: a standard accounting training versus a...

Behavioural economics is the study of how people make decisions in a complex and textured world where details matter. It draws from the fields of economics and psychology, but brings a unique perspective that departs from each of these fields in important ways. behavioural economics differs from...