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Prompting Microfinance Borrowers to Save: A Field Experiment from Guatemala

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  • Jesse Atkinson
  • Alain de Janvry
  • Craig McIntosh
  • Elisabeth Sadoulet

Abstract

Can microfinance borrowers use the discipline of regular loan repayments in order to accumulate savings if prompted to do so? In an experiment, we offered commercial savings products to the microfinance borrowers of Guatemala's largest public-sector bank. We find that giving these borrowers the opportunity to develop a savings plan and be reminded of saving at the time of loan repayment caused no increase in the opening of savings accounts but led to balances among savers that were two and a half times those in the control. A second treatment arm that proposed a default savings contribution of 10% of the loan payment caused the fraction of clients using linked savings accounts to double, as well as elevated deposits among savers, leading to final savings balances that were more than five times the control. The savings treatments also generate faster pay down of debt and weakly better overall repayment performance, suggesting that simultaneous saving and borrowing can be complementary activities. A theoretical model shows that the simultaneous provision of debt and self-commitment savings products can also help a larger fraction of the population to eventually escape a debt-financed equilibrium.

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  • Jesse Atkinson & Alain de Janvry & Craig McIntosh & Elisabeth Sadoulet, 2013. "Prompting Microfinance Borrowers to Save: A Field Experiment from Guatemala," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 62(1), pages 21-64.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:ecdecc:doi:10.1086/671713
    DOI: 10.1086/671713
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    3. Di Giannatale, Sonia & Roa, María José, 2016. "Formal Saving in Developing Economies: Barriers, Interventions, and Effects," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 8107, Inter-American Development Bank.
    4. Steinert, Janina Isabel & Vasumati Satish, Rucha & Stips, Felix & Vollmer, Sebastian, 2022. "Commitment or concealment? Impacts and use of a portable saving device: Evidence from a field experiment in urban India," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 193(C), pages 367-398.
    5. Jiang Du & Miao Zeng & Zhengjuan Xie & Shikun Wang, 2019. "Power of Agricultural Credit in Farmland Abandonment: Evidence from Rural China," Land, MDPI, vol. 8(12), pages 1-14, December.
    6. Felipe Kast & Dina Pomeranz, 2013. "Saving More to Borrow Less: Experimental Evidence from Access to Formal Savings Accounts in Chile," Harvard Business School Working Papers 14-001, Harvard Business School, revised Jun 2014.
    7. Karel Janda & Pavel Zetek, 2015. "Mikrofinanční revoluce: kontroverze a výzvy [Microfinance Revolution: Controversies and Challenges]," Politická ekonomie, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2015(1), pages 108-130.
    8. Dalla Pellegrina, Lucia & De Michele, Angela & Di Maio, Giorgio & Landoni, Paolo, 2021. "Fostering savings by commitment: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment at The Small Enterprise Foundation in South Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    9. Mahreen Mahmud, 2015. "Act Now: Microcredit with Voluntary Contributions and Zero Interest Rate - Evidence from Pakistan," Studies in Economics 1513, School of Economics, University of Kent.
    10. Maria De Paola & Francesca Gioia & Fabio Piluso, 2020. "Does Reminding of Behavioural Biases Increase Returns from Financial Trading? A Field Experiment," International Journal of Economics and Finance, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 12(2), pages 1-1, February.
    11. Janda, Karel & Zetek, Pavel, 2014. "Mikrofinanční Revoluce: Aktuální Kontroverze A Výzvy [Microfinance Revolution: Recent Controversies And Challenges]," MPRA Paper 54098, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Hering, I. & Mußhoff, O., . "Dynamic Incentives in Microfinance – What about the Farmers?," Proceedings “Schriften der Gesellschaft für Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften des Landbaues e.V.”, German Association of Agricultural Economists (GEWISOLA), vol. 51.
    13. Janda, Karel & Zetek, Pavel, 2014. "Survey of Microfinance Controversies and Challenges," MPRA Paper 56657, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Icíar García-Pérez & María Ángeles Fernández-Izquierdo & María Jesús Muñoz-Torres, 2020. "Microfinance Institutions Fostering Sustainable Development by Region," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-23, March.
    15. Mukherjee, Sanghamitra Warrier & Bergquist, Lauren Falcao & Burke, Marshall & Miguel, Edward, 2024. "Unlocking the benefits of credit through saving," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    16. Sonia Di Giannatale & María José Roa, 2016. "Formal Saving in Developing Economies: Barriers, Interventions, and Effects," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 97397, Inter-American Development Bank.
    17. Carolina Laureti & Alain De Janvry & Elisabeth Sadoulet, 2017. "Flexible Microfinance Products for Financial Management by the Poor: Evidence from SafeSave," Working Papers CEB 17-036, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
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    19. Verma, Rahul & Chatterjee, Devlina, 2025. "Relative impact of digital and traditional financial inclusion on financial resilience: Evidence from 13 emerging countries," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    20. Marc Labie & Carolina Laureti & Ariane Szafarz, 2016. "Discipline and Flexibility: A Behavioral Perspective on Product Design in Microfinance," Working Papers CEB 15-020, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    21. Jeremy Burke & Jill E. Luoto & Francisco Perez-Arce, 2014. "Soft versus Hard Commitments A Test on Savings Behaviors," Working Papers WR-1055, RAND Corporation.

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