Microfinance trials on trial

References

• Abramowicz, M., & Szafarz, A. (2020). Ethics of RCTs: Should economists care about equipoise? In F. Bédécarrats, I. Guérin, & F. Roubaud (Eds.), Randomized control trials in the field of development: A critical perspective (pp. 280–292). Oxford University Press.
   Google Scholar
• Allen, T., & Parker, M. (2016). Deworming delusions? Mass drug administration in East African schools. Journal of Biosocial Science, 48(S1), S116–S147. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021932016000171
   PubMedGoogle Scholar
• Angelucci, M., Karlan, D., & Zinman, J. (2015). Microcredit impacts: Evidence from a randomized microcredit program placement experiment by compartamos banco. American Economic Journal Applied Economics, 7(1), 151–182. https://doi.org/10.1257/app.20130537
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Armendariz, B., & Morduch, J. (2010). The economics of microfinance (2nd ed.). The MIT Press.
   Google Scholar
• Ashraf, N., Karlan, D., & Yin, W. (2010). Female empowerment: Impact of a commitment savings product in the Philippines. World Development, 38(3), 333–344. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2009.05.010
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Attanasio, O., Augsburg, B., De Haas, R., Fitzsimons, E., & Harmgart, H. (2015). The impacts of microfinance: Evidence from joint-liability lending in Mongolia. American Economic Journal Applied Economics, 7(1), 90–122. https://doi.org/10.1257/app.20130489
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Augsburg, B., De Haas, R., Glennerster, R., & Kinnan, C. (2015). The impacts of microcredit: Evidence from Bosnia and Herzegovina. American Economic Journal Applied Economics, 7(1), 183–203. https://doi.org/10.1257/app.20130272
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Banerjee, A., & Duflo, E. (2011). Poor economics: A radical rethinking of the way to fight global poverty. Public Affairs.
   Google Scholar
• Banerjee, A., Duflo, E., Glennerster, R., & Kinnan, C. (2015). The miracle of microfinance? Evidence from a randomized evaluation. American Economic Journal Applied Economics, 7(1), 22–53. https://doi.org/10.1257/app.20130533
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Banerjee, A., Karlan, D., & Zinman, J. (2015). Six randomized evaluations of microcredit: Introduction and further steps. American Economic Journal Applied Economics, 7(1), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1257/app.20140287
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Banerjee, A. V. (2020). Field experiments and the practice of economics. The American Economic Review, 110(7), 1937–1951. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.110.7.1937
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Bédécarrats, F., Guérin, I., & Roubaud, F. (2020). Microfinance RCTs in development: Miracle or mirage. In F. Bédécarrats, I. Guérin, & F. Roubaud (Eds.), Randomized control trials in the field of development: A critical perspective (pp. 186–226). Oxford University Press.
   Google Scholar
• Biosca, O., Bellazecca, E., Donaldson, C., Bala, A., Mojarrieta, M., White, G., McHugh, N., Baker, R., & Morduch, J. (2024). Living on low-incomes with multiple long-term health conditions: A new method for disentangling the vicious circle. PLoS One, 19(6), e0305827. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0305827
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Breza, E., & Kinnan, C. (2021). Measuring the equilibrium impacts of credit: Evidence from the Indian microfinance crisis. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 136(3), 1447–1497. https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjab016
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Bulte, E., Lensink, R., & Vu, N. (2017). Do gender and business trainings affect business outcomes? Experimental evidence from Vietnam. Management Science, 63(9), 2885–2902. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2016.2472
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Campbell, M., Fitzpatrick, R., Haines, A., Kinmouth, A. L., Sandercock, P., Spiegelhalter, D., & Tryer, P. (2000). A framework for the development and evaluation of complex interventions to improve health. The British Medical Journal, 321(7262), 694–696. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.321.7262.694
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Craig, P., Cooper, C., Gunnell, D., Haw, S., Lawson, K., Macintyre, S., Ogilvie, D., Petticrew, M., Reeves, B., Sutton, M., & Thompson, S. (2012). Using natural experiments to evaluate population health interventions: New medical research council guidance. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, 66(12), 1182–1186. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2011-200375
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Craig, P., Dieppe, P., Macintyre, S., Michie, S., Nazareth, I., & Petticrew, M. (2008). Medical research council guidance: Developing and evaluating complex interventions: The new medical research council guidance. The British Medical Journal, 337(a1655), a1655. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.a1655
   PubMedGoogle Scholar
• Crepon, B., Fiorencia, D., Dufflo, E., & Pariente, W. (2015). Estimating the impact of microcredit on those who take it up: Evidence from a randomised experiment. American Economic Journal Applied Economics, 7, 173–150. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2438038
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Dahal, M., & Fiala, N. (2020). What do we know about the impact of microfinance? The problems of statistical power and precision. World Development, 128, 104773. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2019.104773
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Deaton, A. (2010). Instruments, randomization, and learning about development. Journal of Economic Literature, 48(2), 424–455. https://doi.org/10.1257/jel.48.2.424
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Fiala, N. (2013). Stimulating microfinance growth: Results from a loans, grants and training experiment in Uganda. University of Connecticut, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2358086
   Google Scholar
• Field, E., Pande, R., Papp, J., Park, Y. J., & Leone, T. (2012). Repayment flexibility can reduce financial stress: A randomized control trial with microfinance clients in India. PLoS One, 7(9), e45679. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0045679
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Field, E., Pande, R., Papp, J., & Rigol, N. (2013). Does the classic microfinance model discourage entrepreneurship among the poor? Experimental evidence from India. The American Economic Review, 103(6), 2196–2226. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.103.6.2196
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Fischer, A. J., Threlfall, A. G., Soraya, M. A., Cookson, R., Rutter, H., & Kelly, M. P. (2013). The appraisal of public health interventions: An overview. Journal of Public Health, 35(4), 488–494. https://doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdt076
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Giné, X., & Karlan, D. S. (2014). Group versus individual liability: Short and long term evidence from Philippine microcredit lending groups. Journal of Development Economics, 107, 65–83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2013.11.003
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Grossman, J., & Mackenzie, F. J. (2005). The randomized controlled trial: Gold standard, or merely standard? Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, 48(4), 516–534. https://doi.org/10.1353/pbm.2005.0092
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Hamad, R., Fernald, L. C. H., & Karlan, D. S. (2011). Health education for microcredit clients in Peru: A randomized controlled trial. BMC Public Health, 11(1), 51. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-11-51
   PubMedGoogle Scholar
• Hawe, P., & Shiell, A. (2004). Complex interventions: How “out of control” can a randomised controlled trial be? The British Medical Journal, 328(7455), 1561–1563. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.328.7455.1561
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Höhn, A., Stokes, J., Pollack, R., Boyd, J., Chueca Del Cerro, C., Elsenbroich, C., Heppenstall, A., Hjelmskog, A., Inyang, E., Kopasker, D., Sonthalia, S., Thomson, R. M., Zia, K., Katikireddi, S. V., & Meier, P. (2023). Systems science methods in public health: What can they contribute to our understanding of and response to the cost-of-living crisis? Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, 77(9), 610–616. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2023-220435
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Hulme, D. (2000). Impact assessment methodologies for Microfinance: Theory, experience and better practice. World Development, 28(1), 79–98. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0305-750X(99)00119-9
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Ibrahim, F., McHugh, N., Biosca, O., Laxton, T., Baker, R., & Donaldson, C. (2021). Microcredit as a public health initiative? Exploring mechanisms and pathways to health and well-being. Social Science & Medicine, 270, 113633. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113633
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Jan, S., Ferrari, G., Watts, C. H., Hargreaves, J. R., Kim, J. C., Phetla, G., & Pronyk, P. M. (2011). Economic evaluation of a combined microfinance and gender training intervention for the prevention of intimate partner violence in rural South Africa. Health Policy and Planning, 26(5), 366–372. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapol/czq071
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Kabeer, N. (2018). Gender, livelihood capabilities and women’s economic empowerment: Reviewing evidence over the life course. Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence. https://www.gage.odi.org/publication/gender-livelihood-capabilities/
   Google Scholar
• Kar, S. (2020). Financializing poverty: Labor and risk in Indian microfinance. Stanford University Press.
   Google Scholar
• Karlan, D. S., & Zinman, J. (2008). Credit elasticities in less-developed economies: Implications for microfinance. The American Economic Review, 98(3), 1040–1068. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.98.3.1040
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Karlan, D., & Zinman, J. (2010). Expanding credit access: Using randomized supply decisions to estimate the impacts. The Review of Financial Studies, 23(1), 433–464. https://doi.org/10.1093/rfs/hhp092
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Karlan, D., & Zinman, J. (2011). Microcredit in theory and practice: Using randomized credit scoring for impact evaluation. Science, 332(6035), 1278–1284. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1200138
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Kelly-Irving, M., Ball, W. P., Bambra, C., Delpierre, C., Dundas, R., Lynch, J., McCartney, G., & Smith, K. (2022). Falling down a rabbit hole? Methodological, conceptual and policy issues in current health inequalities research. Critical Public Health, 33(1), 37–47. https://doi.org/10.1080/09581596.2022.2036701
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Kim, J. C., Watts, C. H., Hargreaves, J. R., Ndhlovu, L. X., Phetla, G., Morison, L. A., Busza, J., Porter, J. D. H., & Pronyk, P. (2007). Understanding the impact of a Microfinance-based intervention on Women’s empowerment and the reduction of intimate partner violence in South Africa. American Journal of Public Health, 97(10), 1794–1802. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2006.095521
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• McCartney, G., Craig, N., Myers, F., Hearty, W., & Barclay, C. (2021). What are the implications of applying equipoise in planning citizens basic income politics in Scotland. Public Health Ethics, 14(1), 109–116. https://doi.org/10.1093/phe/phab001
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• McHugh, N., Biosca, O., & Donaldson, C. (2017). From wealth to health: Evaluating microfinance as a complex intervention. Evaluation, 23(2), 209–225. https://doi.org/10.1177/1356389017697622
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Miguel, E., & Kremer, M. (2004). Worms: Identifying impacts on education and health in the presence of treatment externalities. Econometrica, 72(1), 159–217. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0262.2004.00481.x
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• MRC Clinical Trials Series. (2017). MRC guidelines for management of global health trials: Involving clinical or public health interventions (version 5.0, 2nd February 2022). MRC.
   Google Scholar
• Pawson, R., & Tilley, N. (1997). Realistic evaluation. Sage.
   Google Scholar
• Pronyk, P. M., Hargreaves, J. R., Kim, J. C., Morison, L. A., Phetla, G., Watts, C., Busza, J., & Porter, J. D. H. (2006). Effect of a structural intervention for the prevention of intimate-partner violence and HIV in rural South Africa: A cluster randomised trial. Lancet, 368(9551), 1973–1983. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(06)69744-4
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Roodman, D., & Morduch, J. (2013). The impact of microcredit on the poor in Bangladesh: Revisiting the evidence. The Journal of Development Studies, 50(4), 583–604. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220388.2013.858122
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Skivington, K., Matthews, L., Simpson, S. A., Craig, P., Baird, J., Blazeby, J. M., Boyd, K. A., Craig, N., French, D. P., McIntosh, E., Petticrew, M., Rycroft-Malone, J., White, M., & Moore, L. (2021). A new framework for developing and evaluating complex interventions: Update of medical research council guidance. The British Medical Journal, 374(n2061), n2061. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n2061
   PubMedGoogle Scholar
• Ssewamala, F. M., Ismayilova, L., McKay, M., Sperber, E., Bannon, W., Jr., & Alicea, S. (2010). Gender and the effects of an economic empowerment program on attitudes toward sexual risk-taking among AIDS-orphaned adolescent youth in Uganda. Journal of Adolescent Health, 46(4), 372–378. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2009.08.010
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Tarozzi, A., Desai, J., & Johnson, K. (2015). The impacts of microcredit: Evidence from Ethiopia. American Economic Journal Applied Economics, 7(1), 54–89. https://doi.org/10.1257/app.20130475
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Threlfall, A. G., Soraya Meah, A., Fischer, A. J., Cookson, R., Rutter, H., & Kelly, M. P. (2015). The appraisal of public health interventions: The use of theory. Journal of Public Health, 37(1), 166–171. https://doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdu044
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar