Publications
Publications
- 2009
- HBS Working Paper Series
Female Empowerment: Impact of a Commitment Savings Product in the Philippines
By: Nava Ashraf, Dean Karlan and Wesley Yin
Abstract
Female "empowerment" has increasingly become a policy goal, both as an end to itself and as a means to achieving other development goals. Microfinance in particular has often been argued, but not without controversy, to be a tool for empowering women. Here, using a randomized controlled trial, we examine whether access to and marketing of an individually-held commitment savings product leads to an increase in female decision-making power within the household. We find positive impacts, particularly for women who have below median decision-making power in the baseline, and we find this leads to a shift towards female-oriented durables goods purchased in the household.
Keywords
Saving; Microfinance; Personal Finance; Decision Making; Microeconomics; Gender; Power and Influence; Philippines
Citation
Ashraf, Nava, Dean Karlan, and Wesley Yin. "Female Empowerment: Impact of a Commitment Savings Product in the Philippines." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 09-100, March 2009.