Research Questions

Does access to microcredit have a significant impact on household expenditures and activities?
What is the best way of replicating the Saving for Change program?
How can microfinance institutions increase access to credit among underserved populations while still maintaining low costs?
Does financial literacy training encourage customers to take advantage of the labeled savings account product or make different consumption decisions?
How do changes in the interest rate affect the type of clients that MFIs attract?
How can insurance affect the quality of care available to poor households?
Does access to health insurance improve the health status of its beneficiaries?
Is there evidence of moral hazard and adverse selection in consumer credit markets?
What is the impact of debt-pay off on saving behaviors?
Do the self-commitment and reminder features of the savings product increase formal savings among remittance receivers?
Do these marginally-creditworthy borrowers suffer from binding liquidity constraints such that receiving a loan from our partner lender increases household welfare?
What is the impact of formal savings accounts on savings, productive investment and health expenditures among small-scale entrepreneurs?
Are group liability loans better than individual liability loans when it comes to repayment rates, client retention, loan size, and client outreach?
Does access to health insurance increase risk-taking behavior?
How sensitive are micro-savers to interest rates?
Does financial training alone help vendors change behavior and reduce high-interest debt?
Do marketing messages affect the way that health care loans are used?
Is an automated text message reminder system cost effective for the banks?
What is the impact of crop price insurance on farmers’ investment decisions?
Do group liability loans work better (or worse) than individual liability loans due to monitoring and/or enforcement or peer selection issues?
Does labeling an account lead to an overall increase in savings?
Is a cosignatory requirement a barrier to accessing credit for women?
Can the requirements of group liability for microcredit be relaxed to the point which optimizes its impact?
How important is adverse selection in the insurance market in developing countries?
Does a lack of capital prevent farmers from making potentially profitable investments?
How can credit scoring and interest rates be used to optimize MFI profitability through client selection?
What are the joint and independent impacts of financial literacy and business training on microfinance clients and their communities?
How can institutions develop new and improve existing insurance education programs?
Does opening a SEED commitment savings account increase the clients’ total financial savings?
What is the rate of return for small rural retail businesses, and how do the estimated rates of return vary across firms?
What is the marginal return to an incremental increase in inventory for small retail firms?
What is the impact of automated test message loan repayment reminders on client repayment and default rates and on the banks’ bottom line?
Do savings constraints prevent microentreprenuers from expanding the size of their businesses?
Are lockboxes effective in increasing savings rates and satisfaction with savings?
What interest rate level maximizes profitability, and therefore sustainability, for MFIs?
Can the provision of specialized saving devices earmarked for health improve the welfare of households?
To what extent can psychological features of a promotional campaign affect take-up of a loan product?
Does formal insurance crowd out informal insurance arrangements?
Are text message reminders an effective way to increase savings deposits and to help people reach their stated savings goals?
Can consulting and business support services help micro and small enterprises (MSEs) grow?
Does smoothing the payment of school fees make primary school more affordable?
Do financial literacy classes or enrollment in a commitment savings program alone help market vendors reduce their moneylender debts? Or is external financial assistance necessary?
How does business training impact the business and household outcomes of microcredit clients?
Is it cost effective for the lending organization to add business training sessions to microcredit lending group meetings?
What is the impact of microcredit on individuals and their communities?
What is the impact of providing deposit collection service on clients’ borrowing patterns?
What mechanisms work best to encourage repayment of micro loans?
Is it cost-effective for the lending organization to add business training sessions to microcredit lending group meetings?
What is the impact of debt pay-off on saving behaviors?
Do the Village Savings and Loan Associations in Ghana reach the poorest of the poor?
Can professional associations help members take up formal savings accounts?
Can financial incentives help people change their health behaviors?
How is rainfall insurance understood and received among farmers in Northern Ghana?
Is expanding access to consumer credit profitable for our partner lender?
What role does agricultural credit play in increasing horticultural produce for export?
What is the combined impact of providing health care products (mosquito nets, etc.) and health education?
What types of relationships ensure the best repayment rates on loans?
Can micro health insurers leverage their institutional position and aggregate, otherwise limited, financial resources to fix quality deficiencies in the healthcare available to poor households?
What is the best way to market loans to cover health care costs?
Does the SEED commitment savings product increase savings among people who expressed a desire to save but had a difficult time doing so due to lack of self-control?
Are cross-village replicated groups as efficient as within-village replicated groups in the Saving for Change program?
Do microclients with “planning capability” have a lower default rate than those without planning capability?
What is the impact of different implementation strategies on the Saving for Change program?
Do individual-liability borrowers have asymmetric information on the borrowing “type” of fellow borrowers, and can these borrowers influence the repayment behavior of their fellow borrowers?
How does approval for a microloan impact micro-entrepreneurs’ households and businesses?
How much do community members value their relationships to other community members?
Will Targeting the Ultra Poor (TUP) participants be able to “graduate” to traditional microfinance services?
What are the main constraints for farmers in making potentially profitable investments?
Do “trustworthy” microcredit clients have a lower default rate than those who are untrustworthy?
How do the social connections of an individual, family, or social group relate to participation in village microfinance?
How does the presence of competition affect loan take-up at different interest rates?
How price sensitive are the microfinance clients to hospitalization insurance?
What is the impact of grant funding and enterprise development on social and economic outcomes including: income, assets, school attendance of children, health and food security?
What is the impact of providing health education on microfinance and health indicators?
How can lenders design an optimal, client referral program?
Do lower rates improve loan repayment rates?
What are the mechanisms through which social links influence repayment behavior?
What are the economic impacts of microcredit, including growth of business and income levels?
What is the demand for inclusion of husbands in female solidarity lending groups?
Do clients who choose to open a SEED commitment savings account share certain characteristics?
How do changes in the interest rate affect the type of clients that microfinance institutions (MFIs) attract?
What is the impact of the removal of the cosignatory requirement on household dynamics and bargaining?
For firms for which the marginal return is high, do these significant unexploited profit opportunities reflect substantial credit constraints at the firm level, or are they reflective of behavioral or other biases?
How does information on marketing and distribution increase returns to farmers?
What interest rate level maximizes profitability and sustainability for MFIs?
Is group liability for microcredit better than individual liability when it comes to repayment rates, client retention, loan size, and client outreach?
What is the impact of providing deposit collection service on savings levels?
Do health education programs improve health outcomes of microfinance clients?
How do changes in interest rates impact the demand for microloans?
How does inclusion of the husband affect the household in terms of income and decision-making?
Does providing labels for savings accounts entice both new customers to open accounts and existing customers to make more frequent or larger deposits?
How do estimated rates of return vary with experience, various personality characteristics, or measures of cognitive ability?
Is a student savings program an effective and efficient way to decrease student dropout rates?
What are the social impacts of microcredit, including health status and household decision-making?
Are negative financial incentives an effective aid to quit smoking?
What types of messages are most effective at motivating people to follow through on their stated desires to save?
What strategies are being used to educate clients about insurance and risk management?
Are concerns about rainfall preventing farmers from making potentially profitable investments?
What are the rates of returns of investments undertaken with microfinance loans?
Which combination of interventions results in the lowest level of future household indebtedness and helps households shift from borrowing to saving habits?
Does the combination of financial training and debt pay-off reduce indebtedness more than one of these interventions alone?
How do the commitment device, pure saving, and matching grant components of a micro-savings program compare in lowering primary school dropout rates?
Does debt pay-off alone help vendors stay out of debt?
Does access to microcredit have a significant impact on household expenditures and welfare?
Which savings account features are most effective in helping clients complete their savings commitments?
How does labeling a savings account impact the consumption of goods and services relating to this label?