This study examines the impact of improving access to formal savings services on the ability of households to manage adverse economic shocks- which affect over 90% of the households in our sample. The study uses a Randomized Encouragement Trial (RET) design to gather panel data from 2,006...

In spite of investments and policy reforms, Sub-Saharan African countries lag in supplying financial services for agriculture and rural areas. New products, delivery channels, and partnerships, along with greater attention to savings, provide fresh optimism that this situation will be corrected....