Brune, LasseGiné, XavierGoldberg, JessicaYang, Dean2012-03-192012-03-192011-08-01https://hdl.handle.net/10986/3510This paper reports the results of a field experiment that randomly assigned smallholder cash crop farmers formal savings accounts. In collaboration with a microfinance institution in Malawi, the authors tested two primary treatments, offering either: 1) "ordinary" accounts, or 2) both ordinary and "commitment" accounts. Commitment accounts allowed customers to restrict access to their own funds until a future date of their choosing. A control group was not offered any account but was tracked alongside the treatment groups. Only the commitment treatment had statistically significant effects on subsequent outcomes. The effects were positive and large on deposits and withdrawals immediately prior to the next planting season, agricultural input use in that planting, crop sales from the subsequent harvest, and household expenditures in the period after harvest. Across the set of key outcomes, the commitment savings treatment had larger effects than the ordinary savings treatment. Additional evidence suggests that the positive impacts of commitment derive from keeping funds from being shared with one's social network.CC BY 3.0 IGOACCESS TO FUNDSACCOUNT HOLDERSAGRICULTURAL INPUTSAGRICULTUREAUCTIONAUCTION FLOORBANK ACCOUNTBANK ACCOUNTSBANK OPERATIONSBENEFICIARIESBUDGETINGCASH-CROPCOST ANALYSISCREDIT ACCESSCREDIT ASSOCIATIONSCREDIT COOPERATIVESCREDIT PRODUCTSCROP VALUEDEBTDEPOSITDEPOSIT ACCOUNTDEPOSIT ACCOUNTSDEPOSIT MOBILIZATIONDEPOSITSDEVELOPING COUNTRIESDEVELOPING COUNTRYDEVELOPMENT ECONOMICSDEVELOPMENT POLICYDISCOUNT RATEDURABLEDURABLE ASSETSECONOMETRICSECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTECONOMIC OUTCOMESECONOMIC RESEARCHECONOMICS RESEARCHEXPENDITUREEXPENDITURESFARM OUTPUTFARMERSFEMALE EMPOWERMENTFINANCIAL INSTITUTIONSFINANCIAL PRODUCTSFOREIGN EXCHANGEFUTURE RESEARCHFUTURE STUDIESGOVERNMENT BUDGETGOVERNMENT BUDGETSGROUP LOANHOLDINGHOLDINGSHOUSEHOLD COMPOSITIONHOUSEHOLD SIZEHOUSEHOLD SURVEYILLITERACYINCENTIVES TO SAVEINCOMEINCOME LEVELSINCOMESINDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTSINFORMAL INSURANCEINSURANCEINTEREST RATEINTEREST RATESINTERNATIONAL BANKINVESTMENT BEHAVIORLACK OF KNOWLEDGELANDOWNERSLENDERLENDERSLIABILITYLOANLOAN RECOVERYLOAN REPAYMENTLOW-INCOME COUNTRIESMARGINAL UTILITYMARGINAL UTILITY OF CONSUMPTIONMICROCREDITMICROCREDIT PROGRAMSMICROENTERPRISE CREDITMICROENTERPRISESMICROFINANCEMICROFINANCE INSTITUTIONMICROFINANCE INSTITUTIONSOPTIMAL CONTRACTSOUTPUTPAYMENT SYSTEMPOLITICAL ECONOMYPOORPORTFOLIOPORTFOLIOSPOSITIVE EFFECTSPREMATURE WITHDRAWALSPRIVATE SECTOR DEVELOPMENTPUBLIC POLICYRATES OF RETURNRESOURCE ALLOCATIONRETURNSROSCASRURALRURAL BANKINGRURAL BANKSRURAL COMMUNITIESRURAL HOUSEHOLDSSAVINGSSAVINGS ACCOUNTSAVINGS ACCOUNTSSAVINGS BEHAVIORSAVINGS PROGRAMSSMALL BUSINESSESSMALLHOLDER FARMERSSOCIAL NETWORKSSTOCKSSURCHARGESSUSTAINABLE FINANCESUSUTIME DEPOSITTRANSACTIONTRANSACTION COSTSTRANSACTIONS COSTSTRANSPORTVILLAGE ECONOMIESWITHDRAWALWorld Bankhttps://doi.org/10.1596/1813-9450-5748