Do Behavioral Interventions Help Economic Inclusion Program Recipients Make More Productive Use of their Payments? Evidence from a Cluster-Randomized Trial in Ghana

Cash plus programs, which combine cash transfers with complementary services and interventions, have become an increasingly popular tool for providing livelihood support and poverty alleviation in low- and middle-income countries. While there is robust evidence to indicate that cash programs provide poverty relief in the short term, the impact of cash programs on productive investment behaviors and activities is less understood. This study presents the results of a cluster randomized trial that evaluates the effects of light-touch behavioral interventions to encourage saving and entrepreneurial behaviors for low-income Ghanaians participating in a multi-faceted cash plus program focused on economic inclusion. Participants received business skills training, coaching and mentoring, and a cash grant to support the initiation and expansion of their businesses. The study incorporated a suite of behavioral interventions designed to help recipients set business-related savings goals, create plans for achieving those goals, and follow through on saving towards those goals. In addition, the design included a pamphlet outlining key steps for growing or expanding a business, accompanied by a tracker to help recipients remember these steps and track progress. Drawing from a sample of 3,109 participants, the study found that behavioral interventions significantly improved goal-setting and plan-making behaviors related to savings and consequently, increased the incidences of saving among study participants. However, the study did not find a statistically significant impact of the behavioral interventions on improving business skills. Using a cluster-randomized trial (N=3,109), this study evaluated the effects of light-touch behavioral interventions on recipients of a multi-faceted cash plus program for economic inclusion, which included business skills training, coaching and mentoring, and a cash grant to support the initiation and expansion of businesses. Results show that the behavioral interventions, featuring goal-setting and plan-making activities, savings tools, and business practice reminders, improved goal-setting and plan-making behaviors related to savings and consequently, increased the incidence of saving. However, the interventions did not significantly improve business practices. Findings suggest that simple behavioral tools can strengthen savings behaviors and financial resilience among poor households, complementing cash and training programs, though further research is needed on long-term effects.