Savings groups are a popular and effective way of helping poor households increase their savings. But is there a way to incorporate the mechanisms that make them effective outside of the group in savings products in general?
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Financial Access 101: Why Savings Groups Work
Savings groups are a popular and effective way of helping poor households increase their savings. But why do they work? We explore the mechanisms that make savings groups effective in this video.
Financial Access 101: Intro to Savings Groups
Despite conventional wisdom, poor families DO save. However, they do not always have access to safe, reliable systems to build savings. Savings groups are one tool that help poor households better manage their financial lives.
US Financial Diaries: Informal Finance
Jonathan Morduch of the Financial Access Initiative, and Rachel Schneider of CFSI discuss the new report from the U.S. Financial Diaries Project. Households often use informal tools that are harder to see from outside, like short-term loans from friends or relatives.
What's Behind Door #3? Investment in Migration for the World's Poor
What accounts for the determination of migrants to make it across borders, braving incredibly harrowing journeys by train, boat and foot? For many people around the world, migration is the very best investment they can make.
NextBillion Interviews FAI's Timothy Ogden on USFD Project
Timothy Ogden, managing director of NYU's Financial Access Initiative discusses the U.S. Financial Diaries project, which tracked the financial activity of over 200 lower-income American households for a full year.
When is Income Not Income?
Based on the working paper, "Migration as a Strategy for Household Finance," by Michael Clemens and Timothy Ogden.
David McKenzie: Mental Accounting Part 2
FAI's Tim Ogden sat down with David McKenzie, Lead Economist in the Development Research Group at the World Bank to discuss the importance of mental accounting in his work and the development research agenda.
David McKenzie: Mental Accounting Part 1
FAI's Tim Ogden sat down with David McKenzie, Lead Economist in the Development Research Group at the World Bank to discuss the importance of mental accounting in his work and the development research agenda.
Michael Clemens: Migration and Remittances Part 3
FAI's Tim Ogden and Michael Clemens, Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Development (CGD) and visiting scholar at NYU-Wagner, recently published a Framing Note discussing new research approaches on the role of migration and remittances in household financial management.
Michael Clemens: Migration and Remittances Part 2
FAI's Tim Ogden and Michael Clemens, Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Development (CGD) and visiting scholar at NYU-Wagner, recently published a Framing Note discussing new research approaches on the role of migration and remittances in household financial management.
Michael Clemens: Migration and Remittances Part 1
FAI's Tim Ogden and Michael Clemens, Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Development (CGD) and visiting scholar at NYU-Wagner, recently published a Framing Note discussing new research approaches on the role of migration and remittances in household financial management.
Dean Karlan on Commitment Savings
Dean Karlan discusses some important findings in commitment savings research citing studies in the Phillipines, Malawi, Kenya, and Ghana.
Dean Karlan and Timothy Ogden discuss microfinance
"What do you do with the households that are so poor that there is no real sustainable livelihood going on?" Professor Dean Karlan and FAI's Managing Director Timothy Ogden discuss some of the recent research into poverty alleviation programs targeting the ultra-poor; questions of internal validity versus external validity; and evaluating economic well-being as well as psychological well-being.
Timothy Ogden in Conversation with Nava Ashraf (Part 3)
FAI Managing Director Timothy Ogden and Harvard Business School Associate Professor Nava Ashraf continue their discussion of her commitment savings research. In Part 3 of the conversation, they talk about product design, behavioral psychology, and more.
Timothy Ogden in Conversation with Nava Ashraf (Part 2)
FAI Managing Director Timothy Ogden and Harvard Business School Associate Professor Nava Ashraf discuss her commitment savings research. They talk about inter- and intra-household issues, information asymmetries, and product design to encourage savings.
FAI's Timothy Ogden in Conversation with Harvard's Nava Ashraf (Part 1)
FAI Managing Director Timothy Ogden and Harvard Business School Associate Professor Nava Ashraf discuss her commitment savings research. They also talk about what we currently know about commitment savings and why it works.
FAI 101: Adverse Selection
Clearly, poor households would benefit from access to formal insurance. But why is it so hard to get it to them? One reason is what economists call "adverse selection." Watch the video.
Financial Access 101: Moral Hazard and Microinsurance
Clearly, poor households would benefit from access to formal insurance. But why is it so hard to get it to them? One reason is what economists call "moral hazard." Watch the video.
FAI Video: Shawn Cole Discusses Microinsurance and Factors Affecting Take Up
Economist Shawn Cole discusses findings from several experiments on rainfall insurance in India and index insurance products. In Part 2 of this FAI video conversation, Cole discusses an experiment that was conducted in Gujarat, India. Here the researchers were interested in understanding what were the barriers to adoption of a particular product. The goal of the study is to help farmers manage risks due to failed monsoons when making production decisions.
Shawn Cole Discusses Microinsurance: Investment Impact of Rainfall Insurance
Shawn Cole discusses findings from several experiments on rainfall insurance in India and index insurance products. The goal of the effort is to help farmers manage risks due to failed monsoons when making production decisions.
FAI's Timothy Ogden and Economist Rohini Pande In Conversation
Ogden and Pande discuss her work and why standard microcredit may undermine business investment, from her recent paper: "Does the Classic Microfinance Model Discourage Entrepreneurship Among the Poor?"
FAI Video: Pascaline Dupas of Stanford University
FAI Video: Pascaline Dupas of Stanford University talks to FAI about testing a commitment savings product for health investments.
Carlos Danel: Part 2 - The Future of Microfinance
In 1990, Carlos Danel and Carlos Labarthe co-founded Compartamos—which means "let's share" in Spanish—to provide poor residents (mainly rural women) of Mexico with access to economic opportunities. At its inception Compartamos was a nonprofit organization serving mainly indigenous, rural women in some of the poorest regions in Mexico. The company has since evolved into a commercial bank. While some are critical of the company for what they believe is its emphasis on profits over social returns, our research into microfinance and social investment provides a more nuanced response to the criticism. Nonetheless, there's no denying Compartamos' impact on the region. It is currently one of the largest microcredit institutions in all of Latin America. Most of its more than 600,000 clients live in rural areas of Mexico.
Turning Interest Into Savings
Low-income households are often trapped in a "debt-cycle": They borrow to cover necessary expenses, repay the loan with their subsequent income, then borrow again because they have nothing remaining after repayment. Inconsistent income and seasonality, especially for farmers, makes borrowing attractive at the time of necessity.
Using the Financial Diaries Approach
Using the Financial Diaries Approach
U.S. Financial Diaries Project Launch
U.S. Financial Diaries Project Launch
Jonathan Morduch: Credit Is Not a Right
Is credit a human right? Muhammad Yunus, the most visible leader of a global movement to provide microcredit to world's poor, says it should be. NYU's John Gershman and FAI's Jonathan Morduch disagree.
Carlos Danel: Part 3 - The Indian Microfinance Crisis
In 1990, Carlos Danel and Carlos Labarthe co-founded Compartamos-which means "let's share" in Spanish-to provide poor residents (mainly rural women) of Mexico with access to economic opportunities. At its inception Compartamos was a nonprofit organization serving mainly indigenous, rural women in some of the poorest regions in Mexico.
Carlos Danel: Part 1 - The SKS IPO
In 1990, Carlos Danel and Carlos Labarthe co-founded Compartamos-which means "let's share" in Spanish-to provide poor residents (mainly rural women) of Mexico with access to economic opportunities. At its inception Compartamos was a nonprofit organization serving mainly indigenous, rural women in some of the poorest regions in Mexico.
Jonathan Morduch on Microfinance and Social Investment, Part 1
FAI Insights: The Financial Access Initiative's Jonathan Morduch explains the motivation for his most recent research report with Jonathan Conning on "Microfinance & Social Investment." This is part 1 of a two-part video series.
Jonathan Morduch on The Research Agenda, Part 2
FAI Insights: Jonathan Morduch explains the research agenda for his new study with Jonathan Conning on "Microfinance & Social Investment." This is part 2 of a two-part video series on the subject.
FAI Insights: What Is Rigorous Impact Evaluation?
Michael Clemens, Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Development (CGD) and visiting scholar at the Financial Access Initiative and at NYU-Wagner and the NYU Dept. of Economics (Spring 2011), talks about the findings from his research into the UN Millennium Villages.
FAI Video: Jonathan Morduch talks to FAB's Bhagwan Chowdhry
Jonathan Morduch talks to FAB's Bhagwan Chowdhry.
Targeting the Ultra Poor
Can the poorest be reached with finance? "Ultra poor" members of society face a series of constraints and deprivations that distinguish them from the general poor. Limited social networks, chronic malnutrition, and reliance on patronage systems characterize a socioeconomic class that is hard to "bank."
Daryl Collins on Portfolios of the Poor: Part 2
Daryl Collins, co-author of Portfolios of the Poor and Senior Associate, Bankable Frontier Associates continues her discussion on implementing lessons from Portfolios of the Poor in South Africa.
Daryl Collins on Portfolios of the Poor: Part 1
Daryl Collins, co-author of Portfolios of the Poor and Senior Associate, Bankable Frontier Associates talks about implementing lessons from Portfolios of the Poor in South Africa.
Sukhwinder Singh Arora on Portfolios of the Poor
Sukhwinder Singh Arora, co-author of two books Small Customer, Big Market: Commercial Banks in Microfinance (with Malcolm Harper) and The Poor and their Money (with Stuart Rutherford) talks about how the lessons from Portfolios of the Poor help providers design better products.
Value Proposition of Microfinance and Price: Richard Rosenberg Part 3
Richard Rosenberg, consultant to CGAP, continues his discussion of the value proposition of microfinance and how this relates to the price for financial services.
The Value Proposition of Microfinance and Price: Richard Rosenberg on Portfolios of the Poor Part 2
Richard Rosenberg, consultant to CGAP, talks about the value proposition of microfinance and how this relates to the price for financial services.
Key Findings from Portfolios of the Poor with Richard Rosenberg: Part 1
Richard Rosenberg, consultant to CGAP, highlights the biggest findings of Portfolios of the Poor.
Jonathan Morduch on "Portfolios of the Poor": Reimagining Microfinance, Part 2
Jonathan Morduch, co-author of Portfolios of the Poor shares his opinion on what the book tells us about reimagining microfinance.
Jonathan Morduch on "Portfolios of the Poor": Reimagining Microfinance, Part 1
Jonathan Morduch, co-author of Portfolios of the Poor shares his opinion on what the book tells us about reimagining microfinance.
Stuart Rutherford on Portfolios of the Poor: Part 4
Stuart Rutherford, co-author of Portfolios of the Poor, discusses three MFIs that have redesigned their products to more adequately meet the three fundamental challenges poor households face. These challenges are outlined in Part 3 of this video series: Identifying and Meeting the Financial Needs of the Poor.
Stuart Rutherford on Portfolios of the Poor Part 3
Stuart Rutherford outlines the three major challenges Portfolios of the Poor authors continually observed among diarists: 1) extreme poverty is not only about being very poor, but about managing daily expenses with unpredictable earnings and unreliable jobs: 2) the hardships of limited earnings are compounded by emergencies to which the poor are so vulnerable, forcing already-poor households to patch together an adequate level of cash; and 3) low wages and frequent emergencies prevent households from assembling usefully large sums for bigger expenses, such as housing, marriages, and education, etc.
Stuart Rutherford on Portfolios of the Poor: Part 2
Co-author Stuart Rutherford identifies the key lessons from Portfolios of the Poor and highlights misconceptions about the financial practices of poor households that its research helped to correct. Rutherford also answers questions about the diverse and complex saving methods employed by Portfolio diarists.
Stuart Rutherford on Portfolios of the Poor: Part 1
Stuart Rutherford, the founder of SafeSave, talks about the importance of understanding the financial needs of poor customers.
Introduction to Portfolios of the Poor: An Interview with Bob Christen
Bob Christen, director of the Financial Services for the Poor Initiative at Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, offers a thoughtful introduction to Portfolios of the Poor. Critical to the value of microfinance, he states, is the recognition and understanding of the nuances in the financial lives of the poor: broader financial inclusion can be achieved in ways that extend beyond loans for investment purposes. Portfolios revealed that what poor households need are better ways to manage and save their limited resources. Christen emphasizes that with this awareness, microfinance practioners can design a better generation of financial instruments for the poor, and identifies Portfolios of the Poor as the "guide" to achieve this goal.
William Easterly on Portfolios of the Poor
NYU's William Easterly explains how Portfolios of the Poor gives us a more realistic look at the poor people, and how it changes the perspective on loans for daily consumption.
Yaw Nyarko on Portfolios of the Poor: Research Methodologies
Yaw Nyarko, Professor of Economics at New York University and Director of NYU Africa House, talks about the particulars of the research for Portfolios of the Poor and how it will influence the development of new research trends.
Jonathan Morduch on microlending
Financial Access Initiative managing director Jonathan Morduch talks about measuring the impact of microlending.