1. Cash Transfers: Opponents of cash transfers argue the poor waste their funds on alcohol and tobacco. But a review of 44 estimates of consumption across 19 studies and 13 interventions does not show evidence of increased spending on these goods. The World Bank - Development Impact Blog
2. Mobile Banking: Sometimes mobile banking is a little too helpful. The New Yorker
3. Financial Access: The bank branch may make a comeback after all - new research on issues relating to financial access among communities of color shows individuals surveyed greatly preferred to bank in person rather than use online services, even if they owned a smartphone. National Council of La Raza
4. Social Innovation: "If there is a fortune to be made at the bottom of the pyramid, it remains elusive. Partly that's because doing business with the poor is unavoidably complex, and partly that's because the notion was oversold." The Guardian
5. Targeting: Stories from study participants often complement quantiative data. In this case, they provide insight into the messiness of social science research and the difficulties of accurately targeting interventions. Give Well
