Christopher Woodruff, The CAGE Background Briefing Series No. 45, August 2015

Recent findings in development economics indicate that microloans are likely to perform best when accompanied by financial education, insurance, and savings products. This column presents evidence from a natural experiment in Sri Lanka, which involved door-to-door collection services among rural households. The evidence suggests that the programme increased both savings and income. In order to build up savings in the initial period, participants increased the hours worked. The treatment also triggered exit from self-employment. Financial service innovation can, therefore, have a major effect on the incentives to exit poverty.

Culture and Development