Buvinic, MayraFurst-Nichols, Rebecca2014-12-032014-12-032014-11https://hdl.handle.net/10986/20629A review of rigorous evaluations of interventions that seek to empower women economically shows that the same class of interventions has significantly different outcomes depending on the client. Capital alone, as a small cash loan or grant, is not sufficient to grow women-owned subsistence-level firms. However, it can work if it is delivered in-kind to more successful women microentrepreneurs, and it should boost the performance of women's larger-sized SMEs. Very poor women need a more intensive package of services than do less poor women to break out of subsistence production and grow their businesses. What works for young women does not necessarily work for adult women. Skills training, job search assistance, internships, and wage subsidies increase the employment levels of adult women but do not raise wages. However, similar interventions increase young women's employability and earnings if social restrictions are not binding. Women who run subsistence-level firms face additional social constraints when compared to similar men, thus explaining the differences in the outcomes of some loans, grants, and training interventions that favor men. Social constraints may also play a role in explaining women's outcome gains that are short-lasting or emerge with a delay. The good news is that many of the additional constraints that women face can be overcome by simple, inexpensive adjustments in program design that lessen family and social pressures. These include providing capital in-kind or transacted through the privacy of a mobile phone and providing secure savings accounts to nudge women to keep the money in the business rather than to divert it to non-business uses.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOACCESS TO CREDITACCESS TO LOANSACCOUNTINGACCOUNTING PRACTICESADOLESCENT GIRLSADULT WOMENAGE GROUPSATMATM CARDSATTRITIONAUTONOMYAVERAGE WAGESBANK ACCOUNTBANK ACCOUNTSBANKSBARGAININGBARGAINING POWERBASIC LITERACYBENEFICIARIESBENEFICIARYBORROWINGBUSINESS DEVELOPMENTBUSINESS PROFITABILITYBUSINESS TRAININGCASH TRANSFERCASH TRANSFERSCHILD CARECLASSROOMCLASSROOM TRAININGCONTRIBUTIONCREDIT ACCESSDEBTDECISION MAKINGDELIVERY MECHANISMSDEPOSITDEPOSITSDEVELOPMENT BANKDEVELOPMENT ECONOMICSDISCRIMINATIONDISPLACEMENTEARNINGSEARNINGS OF WOMENECONOMIC COSTSECONOMIC EMPOWERMENTECONOMIC GROWTHECONOMIC SHOCKECONOMICSENROLLMENTENTREPRENEURIAL SKILLSENTREPRENEURSHIPEXCHANGE RATESFAMILY MEMBERSFEMALE ENTREPRENEURSFEMALE PARTICIPANTSFEMALE-OWNED BUSINESSESFINANCIAL GOALFINANCIAL INCENTIVESFINANCIAL LITERACYFINANCIAL PRODUCTSFINANCIAL SERVICESFINANCIAL STUDIESFINANCIAL TRANSACTIONSGENDERGENDER DIFFERENCESGENDER EQUALITYGENDER GAPSGENDER NORMSGENDER SEGREGATIONGIRLSGROWTH OF WOMENHOUSEHOLD EXPENDITURESHOUSEHOLD EXPENSESHOUSEHOLD FINANCESHOUSEHOLD INCOMEHOUSEHOLD INCOMESHOUSEWIVESHUMAN CAPITALINCENTIVES TO SAVEINCOMEINCOME DISTRIBUTIONINCOME LEVELSINDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTSINNOVATIONSINTERVENTIONSINVENTORYINVESTMENT CHOICEINVESTMENT DECISIONSJOB SEARCHJOB SEARCH ASSISTANCEJOB TRAININGKNOWLEDGE GAPSLABOR FORCELABOR MARKETLABOR MARKET POLICIESLABOR RELATIONSLABOR SUPPLYLABOURLARGE FIRMSLEARNINGLIABILITYLIFE SKILLSLITERACY CLASSESLOANLOAN PRODUCTSLOCAL GOVERNMENTLOCAL GOVERNMENTSLOW COSTLOW-INCOMELOWER INCOMESMARKET ENTRYMARRIED COUPLESMARRIED MENMARRIED WOMENMICROFINANCEMINIMUM WAGEMONTHLY INCOMESNET SAVINGSNUMERACYOCCUPATIONAL TRAININGOCCUPATIONSORPHANSPENALTIESPERSONAL SAVINGSPERSONALITYPERSONALITY TRAITSPOOR WOMENPROBABILITIESPROBABILITYPRODUCTIVITYREPAYMENTRIGHTS FOR WOMENRISK AVERSIONRISK TAKINGRURAL WOMENSALARYSALESSAVINGSSAVINGS ACCOUNTSAVINGS ACCOUNTSSAVINGS GOALSECONDARY EDUCATIONSELF-EMPLOYMENTSENIORSEXESSEXUAL BEHAVIORSKILLS TRAININGSMALL BUSINESSESSMALL LOANSOCIAL PROTECTIONTECHNICAL ASSISTANCETECHNICAL SKILLSTEMPORARY EMPLOYMENTTRAINING COURSESTRAINING PROGRAMTRAINING PROGRAMSTRANSACTIONTRANSACTION COSTSTRANSITION ECONOMIESTRANSPORTUNEMPLOYEDUNEMPLOYED PEOPLEUNEMPLOYED WORKERSUNEMPLOYMENTUNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITSUNITED NATIONSURBAN WOMENVALUABLEVOCATIONAL EDUCATIONVOCATIONAL TRAININGWAGEWAGE GAPWAGE SUBSIDIESWAGESWITHDRAWALWOMEN ENTREPRENEURSWOMEN FARMERSWOMEN IN BUSINESSWORK EXPERIENCEWORK HOURSWORKING WOMENYOUNG ADULTSYOUNG PEOPLEYOUNG WOMENYOUNGER PEOPLEYOUNGER WORKERSYOUTHYOUTH EMPLOYMENT10.1596/1813-9450-7087