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Chowa, G.
2014 | Ghana

Implementing a large scale, nationwide, impact assessment for youth savings and development: An innovative model from the Ghana YouthSave experiment


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Financial Inclusion

Little evidence exists on the impact of financial assets on youth development in developing countries. Large-scale, nation-wide impact assessments are rare because they are costly and implementation is beguiled with challenges. The Ghana YouthSave experiment offers lessons critical to successful implementation of large nationwide experiments in this area. The cluster randomized design addresses methodological weaknesses such as selection bias and treatment diffusion. In addition, strong internal validity facilitates making causal inferences. The successful planning and execution of the experiment in Ghana is credited to the healthy working relationship that exists among the partners including the financial institution, the researchers, and local experts. The partnership has included careful randomization techniques, smooth recruitment and selection, fidelity of treatment implementation, data collection accuracy, co-publication and cooperative problem- solving. The findings in the Ghana experiment offer numerous policy and practice implications for public and private institutions in the developing world.

Chowa G. (2014, October). Implementing a large scale, nationwide, impact assessment for youth savings and development: An innovative model from the Ghana YouthSave experiment. Presented at the annual conference of the American Evaluation Association, Denver, CO.