Ksoll, Christopher ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6744-6267, Lilleør, Helene Bie ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6963-5782, Lønborg, Jonas Helth and Rasmussen, Ole Dahl ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8313-1385 (2015) Impact of village savings and loan associations: Evidence from a cluster randomized trial. Journal of Development Economics, 120. pp. 70-85. ISSN 0304-3878 (doi:10.1016/j.jdeveco.2015.12.003)

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Abstract

The vast majority of the world's poor live in rural areas of developing countries with little access to financial services. Setting up Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) has become an increasingly widespread intervention aimed at improving local financial intermediation. Using a cluster randomized trial we investigate the impact of VSLAs in Northern Malawi over a two year period. We find evidence of positive and significant intention-to-treat effects on several outcomes, including the number of meals consumed per day, household expenditure as measured by the USAID Poverty Assessment Tool, and the number of rooms in the dwelling. This effect is linked to an increase in savings and credit obtained through the VSLAs, which has increased agricultural investments and income from small businesses.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Savings groups, Village Savings and Loan Associations, VSLA, Malawi, Impact evaluation, Cluster-randomized controlled trial
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Engineering & Science Faculty of Engineering & Science > Natural Resources Institute Faculty of Engineering & Science > Natural Resources Institute > Livelihoods & Institutions Department
Last Modified:	24 Jul 2020 22:26
URI:	http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/28930

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