The COVID-19 Early Release Scheme allowed Australian retirement plan participants in financial hardship immediate access to up to $A20,000 of their ‘preserved’ retirement savings, making otherwise illiquid balances temporarily liquid. Using administrative and survey data from a large...

The COVID-19 Early Release Scheme allowed Australian retirement plan participants in financial hardship immediate access to up to $A20,000 of their ‘preserved’ retirement savings, making otherwise illiquid balances temporarily liquid. Using administrative and survey data from a large...

Recent evaluations of traditional microloans have not found significant impacts on borrower production or incomes. We examine whether this can be remedied by delegating selection of borrowers for individual liability loans to local trader-lender agents incentivized by repayment-based...