Peer-reviewed article
Effects of Financial Incentives on Saving Outcomes and Material Well‐Being: Evidence From a Randomized Controlled Trial in Uganda
Julia Shu‐Huah Wang, Fred M. Ssewamala, Torsten B. Neilands, Laura Gauer Bermudez, Irwin Garfinkel et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001A randomized controlled trial in Uganda tested whether financial incentives for saving harm children's access to basic needs. Primary school children from AIDS-affected households were assigned to a control group or two intervention arms offering matched savings with different incentive levels (1:1 or 1:2 matching). Children in both savings programs accumulated more money than the control group, and families started more businesses and diversified assets, without experiencing material hardship or reduced spending on basic needs.
Key points
- Children in both Bridges and Bridges PLUS interventions were more likely to have accumulated savings at 24 months than control children
- Higher match incentives (1:2 ratio) increased how often families made deposits but did not increase total savings in the bank
- Participating in the savings intervention did not result in material hardship or reduced spending on basic needs
- Families in both intervention arms were more likely to start a family business and diversify their assets
Limitations
The study focuses on AIDS-affected children in Uganda and may not generalize to other contexts or populations. The document does not report effects on child health, nutrition, education outcomes, or long-term follow-up beyond 24 months.
Abstract
The use of savings products to promote financial inclusion has increasingly become a policy priority across sub-Saharan Africa, yet little is known about how families respond to varying levels of savings incentives and whether the promotion of incentivized savings in low-resource settings may encourage households to restrict expenditures on basic needs. Using data from a randomized controlled trial in Uganda, we examine: 1) whether low-income households enrolled in an economic-empowerment intervention consisting of matched savings, workshops, and mentorship reduced spending on basic needs and 2) how varied levels of matching contributions affected household savings and consumption behavior. We compared primary school-attending AIDS-affected children (N = 1,383) randomized to a control condition with two intervention arms with differing savings-match incentives: 1:1 (Bridges) and 1:2 (Bridges PLUS). We found that: 1) 24 months post-intervention initiation, children in Bridges and Bridges PLUS were more likely to have accumulated savings than children in the control condition; 2) higher match incentives (Bridges PLUS) led to higher deposit frequency but not higher savings in the bank; 3) intervention participation did not result in material hardship; and 4) in both intervention arms, participating families were more likely to start a family business and diversify their assets.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Economic-empowerment program consisting of matched savings accounts (1:1 or 1:2 matching ratios), financial workshops, and mentorship for families with primary school-attending AIDS-affected children
- Population
- 1,383 primary school-attending AIDS-affected children and their families in Uganda, randomized to control or two intervention arms
Key finding
Children in Bridges and Bridges PLUS were more likely to have accumulated savings than control children at 24 months
Wang et al. · Prof. Fred M. Ssewamala (OpenAlex works) · 29 May 2018