Cashing In (and Out): Experimental Evidence on the Effects of Mobile Money in Malawi
- (pp. 599-604)
Abstract
We present results from a randomized control trial on access to mobile money with 480 entrepreneurs in Malawi. Treated individuals received account opening assistance and basic training on mobile money and were encouraged to save. Withdrawal fees were waived. Seventy-three percent of treatment respondents made at least 1 deposit, and 53 percent made at least 5. Treatment respondents reallocated labor from business to agriculture, and we find some evidence for an increase in expenditures. Evidence suggests that treatment effects were driven in large part by respondents using the accounts for savings.Citation
Aggarwal, Shilpa, Valentina Brailovskaya, and Jonathan Robinson. 2020. "Cashing In (and Out): Experimental Evidence on the Effects of Mobile Money in Malawi." AEA Papers and Proceedings, 110: 599-604. DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20201087Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- E42 Monetary Systems; Standards; Regimes; Government and the Monetary System; Payment Systems
- G21 Banks; Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
- G51 Household Saving, Borrowing, Debt, and Wealth
- G53 Household Finance: Financial Literacy
- L26 Entrepreneurship
- O16 Economic Development: Financial Markets; Saving and Capital Investment; Corporate Finance and Governance