Financial Education and Savings Behavior: Evidence from a Randomized Experiment among Low-Income Clients of Branchless Banking in India

B-Tier
Journal: Economic Development & Cultural Change
Year: 2018
Volume: 66
Issue: 4
Pages: 793 - 825

Authors (5)

Margherita Calderone (European Bank for Reconstructi...) Nathan Fiala (University of Connecticut) Florentina Mulaj (not in RePEc) Santadarshan Sadhu (not in RePEc) Leopold Sarr (not in RePEc)

Score contribution per author:

0.402 = (α=2.01 / 5 authors) × 1.0x B-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

Financial literacy programs are popular, despite limited evidence that they lead to significant changes in savings behavior. We experimentally test the impact of financial literacy training on clients of a branchless banking program that offers doorstep access to banking to low-income households. The intervention had significant impacts: total savings in the treatment group increased by 49% ($39) within a period of 1 year. The increase in savings is due in part to decreases in expenditures on temptation goods. These results suggest that financial education interventions can be successful in changing savings outcomes, although results may be very context specific.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:ucp:ecdecc:doi:10.1086/697413
Journal Field
Development
Author Count
5
Added to Database
2026-01-25