UC Davis Blum Center for Developing Economies

My group had an amazing thanksgiving together in Panama City. I was trying to explain to my host family that I was going to be gone for a few to celebrate a US tradition. When they asked what we celebrate I told them that Thanksgiving was a day to be with family, enjoy the company of friends and gorge ourselves to the point of discomfort - I left out the part about the day marking the subsequent pillaging of the indigenous. I tried to convince my family that we should have small Thanksgiving of our own in which we gleefully slaughter their aggressive, bloodthirsty turkey, but for some reason they did not like the idea. I am still not sure what role that dumb bird plays, but I will find out and report back soon. Our Group 75 Peace Corps Thanksgiving consisted of the volunteers cooking an enormous meal with yours truly organizing the kitchen and cooking the turkeys. See the photo above to visualize my quick-bake turkey preparation strategy. I de-boned the birds, put my arms in t...

The MPESA Kiosk People are often exposed to unexpected or large expenses, such as medical emergencies and school fees. Women in poor communities are more vulnerable to these shocks. We developed a mobile money savings product with zero transaction costs using MPESA, a technology that allows one to deposit and withdraw money using a mobile phone. MPESA is part of the large mobile phone network Safaricom. There are agents everywhere from whom money can be deposited and withdrawn. This makes MPESA potentially superior to formal bank accounts: even in very remote villages, women can easily access the money they store; and it is a safe place to keep money. A woman at the MPESA kiosk To develop a savings product, we needed to include some form of commitment so that women are able to store money and not spend it impulsively or share it unnecessarily with other people. However, we needed to balance this commitment with liquidity. Money has to be easily accessible and not tied-...