Does Providing Women Living in Rural Areas with Innovative Financial Interventions Change Household

Does Providing Women Living in Rural Areas with Innovative Financial Interventions Change Household Expenditure and Saving Behaviour?

Presenter: Vy Nguyen Co-authors: Zabid Iqbal, Asad Islam, Russell Smyth Abstract This document outlines the pre-analysis plan to use a Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) to assess whether either a simplified less intensive financial treatment or a tailored just-in-time financial treatment can perform better than traditional financial literacy education in overcoming financial inclusion barriers for a sample of young women in Bangladesh. The simplified less intensive financial treatment will entail participants self-recording daily income and expenditure using a financial diary. Financial diaries are believed to assist households to manage daily expenses, cut unnecessary expenditure and save for unforeseen expenses. The tailored just-in-time financial treatment will involve participants receiving individualized financial counselling, which will involve provision of advice on matters such as opening a bank account, obtaining credit and debt refinancing, tailored to the participants need.