""When we started this work there had been practically zero studies using randomized controlled trials to answer a question on any development topic."
Since then, about a dozen randomized controlled trials of microloan programs in multiple countries have been conducted...India, Mexico, Mongolia and the Philippines.
Across the board, the findings were damning: To be sure, in all but one of the studies, borrowers who owned businesses did use the loan at least in part to expand their business. And in two studies, ownership of businesses increased. But these expansions were modest and rarely translated into increased profits. Most disappointing of all, in none of the studies did the average microloan borrower end up significantly increasing income relative to the control group."
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