Publications
Publications
Microfinance and Diversification (with Oriana Bandiera, Robin Burgess, Erika Deserranno, Ricardo Morel, Imran Rasul, Munshi Sulaiman)
Economica (2022)
Abstract: The bulk of the world’s extreme poor work in subsistence agriculture. Diversification out of this activity is often seen as the sine qua non of economic development. We evaluate whether the roll-out of a mainstay development intervention—microfinance—into poor, agricultural and largely unbanked populations in rural Uganda helps borrowers to diversify into non-agricultural labour activities. The new microfinance product is targeted to women, and differs from existing sources of formal and informal credit in that it allows them to borrow larger amounts but has inflexible repayment dates and the use of funds is monitored. We find that the arrival of microfinance enables women to diversify out of agriculture and into service-based activities such as small-scale trading. This low-level structural change, however, is not transformative in that it does not lead—at least after two years—to significant uplifts in earnings, consumption, savings, investment and overall wealth.
Selected Work in Progress
Peer Learning and Productivity Across NGOs (with Michelle Rao)
Abstract: Interventions in development, education, and workforce development organizations increasingly involve non-governmental organizations (NGOs) or civil society organizations. In this project, we randomly assign NGOs that share a common funder into community organizations to study the effect of networks on organizational performance. These NGOs will send representatives to monthly meetings wherein they will discuss best practices and share information on monitoring and evaluation, among other topics. We plan to study how the formation of these networks affects outcomes for the funder, and organisational performance and decisions for the funded NGOs.
Ripple Effects: Climate Change and Aquaculture in Bangladesh (with Krittika Ray)
Exploratory Funding Provided by: International Growth Centre (IGC), STICERD
Jobs to End Poverty: Evidence from Bangladesh (with Oriana Bandiera, Menna Bishop, Robin Burgess, Stefano Caria)