Table 7
Source publication
We show that extremely poor, war-affected women in northern Uganda have high returns to a package of $150 cash, five days of business skills training, and ongoing supervision. Sixteen months after grants, participants doubled their microenterprise ownership and incomes, mainly from petty trading. We also show these ultrapoor have too little social...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... Phase 2, when control villages received the program, we surveyed participants about grant use and future expectations a month after they received it (a few weeks before the first follow-up visits), and again a year later. Table 6 reports one-month treatment effects of expecting any follow-up, and Table 7 reports 12-month treat- ment effects of two visits (supervision without advice) and five visits (supervision with extended advice). 29 We adapted empowerment questions from the Uganda Demographic and Health Survey. ...
Context 2
... impacts.- Table 7 reports the impacts of supervision a year after grants. We conducted the survey during a time of wet season planting and the beginning of the main harvest, at the closing of a lean season. ...
Context 3
... interact these baseline measures with treatment in online Appendix D. The future orientation level and interaction have the expected sign (i.e., more investment and earnings) though the autonomy measure does not. None are statistically significant, but the coefficients on treatment-which represents the effect of treatment on the present-biased and less autonomous-are larger and more statistically significant than in Table 7. ...
Citations
... Many report no significant positive effects on business performance (Drexler et al., 2014;Fiala, 2018;Karlan & Valdivia, 2011). However, others find that such training can increase profits, survival, or growth over the long term (Blattman et al., 2016;McKenzie & Puerto, 2021) or even the short term (De Mel et al., 2014;Field et al., 2016;Mano et al., 2012). The use of digital tools offers a promising avenue to expand the reach of these programs, as demonstrated by Attanasio et al. (2019), Davies et al. (2024), and Estefan et al. (2023). ...
Policymakers face the challenge of delivering business training programs that are high-quality, scalable, and cost-effective. This paper examines the impact of Exper-tienda, a free, smartphone-based business training application designed for Colom-bian microentrepreneurs. Using a randomised controlled trial (RCT) and leveraging local promoters from nearby universities, we evaluated the program's uptake and its effects on business practices, financial inclusion, and formalization. The study involved 994 microentrepreneurs across 10 Colombian cities, with data collected through administrative records and follow-up surveys one year after the intervention. The intervention increased app take-up by 3.97 percentage points, with no evidence of spillover effects across geographical boundaries. However, usage data reveals that the program struggled to engage users, as evidenced by low levels of interaction with the course. Moreover, we found no significant impacts on financial inclusion, formalization, business practices, or other key business outcomes. A high and unexpected attrition rate limited our ability to detect small effects, which are likely given the low levels of interaction with the app. This study is among the first to evaluate a mobile-based training intervention aimed at established microentrepreneurs who lack direct connections to the implementing organisation, providing important insights for the design and implementation of scalable digital training solutions.
... Theoretically, it is argued that increases in disposable earnings and consumption security provided by an additional (and guaranteed) source of income could be associated with a decrease in labour supply and work effort (Baird, McKenzie, and Özler 2018;Bastagli et al. 2016). Yet, the existing empirical evidence tends to disprove this claim: in most cases, receiving CTs does not lead to statistically significant changes in work participation or intensity (Alzúa, Cruces, and Ripani 2013;Banerjee et al. 2017; Barrientos and Villa 2013;Bastagli et al. 2019;Blattman et al. 2016;O'Brien et al. 2013). When reductions in labour supply are observed, these are often attributed to specific groups, such as the elderly or individuals in casual work arrangements, and not to the influence of the cash transfer itself (Ardington, Case, and Hosegood 2009;Cheema et al. 2014;Kassouf and De Oliveira 2012). ...
The productive impacts of cash transfer (CT) programs have not been widely studied, though interest in this area is growing, with existing evidence generally pointing to rather positive findings. Notably, one key takeaway from the (limited) available research is the debunking of a common criticism drawn against cash transfers and social assistance, more in general – namely, the assumption that social programs disincentivize or discourage work. Even less is known about the sustainability of CT impacts, as these interventions are typically designed as short-term programs. To address this gap, we conducted a quasi-experimental study of a universal unconditional cash transfer initiative in rural Uganda. Our study examined whether effects on savings, debt, investment, incomes, assets and labour allocation (if any) persisted after the end of the transfer. Despite the concurrent outbreak of COVID-19, our findings revealed several sustained impacts, particularly on savings, (agricultural) incomes and business ownership.
... Their evidence again highlighted gender-based heterogeneity in responses to business training. Blattman et al. (2016) evaluated the impact microenterprise support had on extremely poor war-affected women in Northern Uganda. The intervention included the provision of $150 cash, five days of business skills training specifically designed for women in vulnerable socioeconomic conditions, and ongoing supervision. ...
Women can improve their socioeconomic status, enhance their agency, and increase their bargaining power in household decision-making, including regarding fertility choices and financial matters, by gaining knowledge, skills, and information. This systematic literature review applies a gender lens to analyse educational interventions and training programs that have promoted women's empowerment and gender equality in low-income and lower-middle-income countries. We used an electronic database to generate an initial pool of 5,560 articles and whittled that selection down to 39 papers that were published in high-impact economics journals and employed causal identification methodologies. Afterwards, we manually added 18 relevant studies to arrive at a total of 57 reviewed articles. This review considers interventions with proven impacts, from school feeding programs and health initiatives to vocational training and childcare support initiatives. Our findings indicate that these development programs can significantly boost women's and girls' enrolment in education, employment, and economic autonomy while addressing barriers like social norms and mobility constraints. Key outcomes include increased employment and income, improved health practices, delayed marriage, and fewer early pregnancies. However, the fact that the findings are mixed for certain types of interventions, such as those that included men in women-focused programs, underscores the need for context-sensitive strategies to effectively address structural gender inequalities.
... Second, we further expand on the work of Blattman et al. (2016), examining how exploratory search addresses the constraints of SMEs with limited in-house research and development, enabling the discovery of predeveloped innovative ideas. Our study highlights how explorative search expands SMEs' sensing capabilities by encouraging them to move beyond their current knowledge base and explore new ideas, market trends, and innovations. ...
... Limited access to opportunities, social marginalization, and uncertainty about the future can lead people in poverty to feel lower optimism and less agency over their fate (Chetty et al., 2022;Markus & Stephens, 2017;Sheehy-Skeffington, 2020;Sheehy-Skeffington & Rea, 2017). A recent literature on multi-faceted approaches shows that combining economic interventions and psychosocial support can yield sustained impacts on poverty reduction and welfare over time (Banerjee et al., 2021;Blattman et al., 2016Blattman et al., , 2017Lang et al., 2023;. Some of our prior research in Niger tested a multi-faceted program that included a package of economic support plus two psychosocial interventions designed to boost women's agency-a community film event on community aspirations, values, and norms and a one-week training on life skills like goal setting, problem solving, and decision-making. ...
Poverty is multidimensional, associated not only with a
lack of financial resources, but also often social-psychological constraints, such as diminished agency and aspirations.
Through a series of field experiments, this paper assesses the
causal impacts of culturally wise interventions designed to
build women’s agency on poverty reduction efforts in rural
Niger. Moreover, the study identifies a model of agency
that is “culturally wise” because it is the most motivational
and functional in the study cultural context. Study 1
reports descriptive evidence that an interdependent model
of agency—that is grounded in social harmony, respect,
and collective advancement and that accounts for relational affordances for individual goals—is predominant
in rural Niger. This stands in contrast to a more self-oriented, independent model grounded in personal aspirations,
self-direction, and self-advancement that is more common
in the West. Study 2 explores the psychosocial mechanisms
of a highly effective, multifaceted poverty reduction program that included two psychosocial interventions—a community sensitization and a life skills training, which incorporated both models of agency. Although the results support the role of intrapersonal processes (including enhanced self-efficacy and optimistic future expectations) in driving economic impacts, there is equal, if not greater, support for relational processes (including increased subjective
social standing, control over earnings, and social support).
Study 3 conducts a mechanism experiment to disentangle
the causal effects of interventions grounded in independent agency (“personal initiative”) or interdependent agency (“interpersonal initiative”). The results show that the interdependent agency intervention, which is considered to be most “culturally wise,” led to significant effects on economic outcomes as well as both intrapersonal and relational processes. By contrast, the independent agency intervention showed impacts on intrapersonal processes alone. These findings show the promise of an emerging area of research at the intersection of behavioral science, cultural psychology, and development economics for addressing complex global problems like poverty and inequality.
... Mah and Yoon (2020) examined using data between 1994 and 2015 the impacts of grants on economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa, and it was found that grants had a favorable and significant impact on economic growth. Also, according to Blattman et al. (2016), recipient countries have a good return on investment for grants, and grants in the form of loans have a modest effect on growth (Banerjee, 2015). Nevertheless, no matter the amount received in the form of ODA, it is still relevant to developing countries, particularly Sub-Saharan economies, where there are a huge infrastructural gap and budget constraint in funding vital services like healthcare, education, etc. ...
This study outlines the features of financing investment development in Sub-Saharan African countries. Using the financial determinants of GDP, a model was developed based on the method of least squares employing data covering 2004-2018. It was revealed that a positive correlation exists between economic growth and bank loans as well as official development assistance. The results of the model indicate that bank loans and remittances significantly increase economic growth. However, both foreign direct investment and official development assistance (ODA) were found to be ineffective in promoting development, and this is attributable to its investment model (resource-seeking) and the conditions under ODA financing, respectively, in the region. Bank loans were found to be the most influential in promoting sustainable growth in the region. Hence, it is instructive that the reforms are needed and incentives are to be developed to improve the level of the region's financial and banking sector development and facilitate the sustainable socioeconomic development of these economies.
... Christopher Blattman and coauthors find that the ultra-poor, war-affected women in northern Uganda have high returns to a package of (a) $150 cash, (b) five days of business-skills training, and (c) ongoing supervision. 70 Sixteen months after the program, the microenterprise ownership and income of the program participants doubled. In addition, the study finds that while the ultra-poor have little social capital, their group bonds, informal insurance, and cooperative activities can be induced for positive outcomes. ...
This essay provides an account of four interrelated ideas. First, a person who is not poor by the standard conception of poverty can still be functionally poor. Second, poverty is a relationship between the poor and their environment (community, local markets, and local institutions). Third, poverty is a determinant of agency and impedes its exercise. Fourth, promoting agency promotes development. I conclude that agency is central to understanding both poverty and development.
... Bandiera et al. (2017) show that the program leads to long-run improvements in the socio-economic conditions of beneficiary households. Similar programs targeting ultra-poor households have been evaluated in other contexts and, by and large, have found positive effects on socio-economic conditions of the targeted households (Banerjee et al. 2015(Banerjee et al. , 2016(Banerjee et al. , 2018Blattman et al. 2016;Collins and Ligon 2017;Bedoya et al. 2019;Brune et al. 2020), but to date, we have limited evidence on these programs' effects on informal transfers. In this paper, I exploit the randomized rollout of the program and panel data covering over 21,000 households over seven years to study the program's effects on interhousehold transfers. ...
... Thus, for the economies of countries hosting refugees, the optimal solution would be the gradual transition of refugees to the positions of emigrants, their assimilation into public life, the achievement of which requires appropriate tools. People affected by the consequences of war need special social and economic care, and targeted assistance programs should facilitate their adaptation to new realities (Blattman et al., 2016;Naidoo et al., 2018). ...
Human capital is one of the key factors in the development of entrepreneurship, production and services. The goal of each enterprise is to make a profit, the realization of which requires investment. When developing investment projects, it is crucial to choose the most promising ones, at the same time, it is necessary to take into account the existence of “bottlenecks”, and investment activity should be directed to liquidate them. So, the optimal values of the enterprises’ investments in the situation of sufficient and insufficient levels of human capital are found and the factors influencing them are analyzed. The study of the issue of human capital today cannot bypass the question of refugees. As a result of the war in Ukraine, a large wave of migration processes is taking place in Poland, and, therefore, there is a problem and need for adaptation of people fleeing from the war. The social problem that arose due to the large number of refugees in Poland requires a comprehensive solution that would aim not only to help the refugees, but also the Polish economy. The best possible solution to the problem of refugees, both for themselves and for the host countries, is to involve them in an egalitarian society and equal economic life. The study highlights the possibility of using technical capabilities for the development of human capital on the example of a mobile application “Pszukaj” developed by the authors.
Purpose of the article
The aim of this paper is to build and analyze optimization models of investments in the field of production of goods and provision of services and in the development of human capitalin the situation of sufficient …
... Human and managerial capital is a critical input to the generation of entrepreneurial returns (Ibarrarán et al. 2019, Bruhn et al. 2010, and in the context of group investments training also has the capacity to alter the participation of disempowered members (Blattman et al. 2016). To investigate this issue, the early treatment group was then further randomized to two groups; one of which was to receive some form of training (32 groups) and the other would not receive any training (27 groups). ...
