Data
EGC Longitudinal Surveys in Ghana and India
Two large-scale surveys have been conducted by the Economic Growth Center in India and Ghana to gather data to study the pathways through which social and political institutions influence patterns of economic development.
The projects have three components: a survey of households and their enterprises; an inventory of the village/neighborhood infrastructure; and a complete listing of the village/neighborhood population and their socioeconomic characteristics. The India survey was conducted in collaboration with the Center for Micro Finance (CMF) at the Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR) in Chennai. The Ghana surveys are conducted joint with Northwestern University and the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) at the University of Ghana.
Rural Banks Can Reduce Poverty: Experimental Evidence from 870 Indian Villages
This experiment, which randomized branch placement by private sector bank, Kshetriya Gramin Financial Services (KGFS), sought to quantify the impacts of KGFS services on poverty reduction, entrepreneurship, agricultural investments, social networks, mental health, and female empowerment – the first large-scale experimental impact evaluation of improved access to formal financial services for rural populations.