Week of April 6, 2015

1. Digital Payments:  A body of research contains evidence that people spend more with credit cards than cash because the former reduces the "pain of paying."  Do mobile wallets like Apple Pay increase or relieve this pain?  The Atlantic

2. G2P Transfers:  The US doesn't drug test farmers receiving crop subsidies or requirePell Grant recipients to limit their field of study - so why do the poor have to prove they are worthy of aid?  The Washington Post

3.  Mobile Money Agents:  Agents in Uganda use creative ways to "bend the rules" in order to meet the needs of a diverse customer base.  Helix

4. Economics of Gender:  A new report (and interactive digital tools) examines the current state of women’s economic, social, and political progress in the US.   Despite gains over the past few decades in educational attainment, women have higher rates of poverty, earn less, and have lower rates of business ownership than male peers.  IWPR

5. Financial Inclusion:  Tilman Ehrbeck, who recently moved from CGAP to Omidyar Network, discusses the value that finance apps that go beyond enabling payments may bring.  Huffington Post

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