Malawi - Savings Defaults and Payment Delays for Cash Transfers: Field Experimental Evidence from Malawi 2013-2014

The researchers implement an artefactual field experiment in Malawi to test the ability of households to manage a cash windfall by varying whether 474 households receive a payment in cash or through direct deposit into pre-established accounts at a local bank. The windfall income experiment is one of a set of interventions designed to encourage savings and understand the mechanisms through which formal bank accounts affect consumption and spending.  The experiment is designed to address 3 related questions: (1) Does defaulting payment of a transfer into a savings account affect savings? (2) Is income used differently when directly deposited to a bank account compared to when received in cash? (3) Does delaying receipt of the transfer change consumption and savings decisions?  The household survey is adapted from Malawi's Third Integrated Household Survey (HIS-3) and contains its detailed expenditure module. In addition to asking about the quantity purchased and total paid for 218 consumption goods, durable goods and services, authors also ask whether each purchase was planned before the respondent arrived at the store or market, or was made on the spot. Researchers also use survey data collected between June and Aug 2013, before bank accounts were opened. These data include information about household demographics, expenditures, asset ownership and time preferences.