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on Community banking and credit unions |
| By: | Megan Lang; Alpha Ly |
| Abstract: | Even as governments push to build infrastructure to achieve universal access to electricity, demand-side barriers constrain uptake where infrastructure already exists. This paper assesses the impact of the quasi-experimental introduction of mobile money on electricity adoption by households. We conduct a granular district-level analysis of 33 sub-Saharan African countries that leverages differential sub-national mobile network coverage. We find that mobile money access improves district-level power uptake by around 24% relative to similar districts without mobile money access. We provide evidence consistent with demand-side channels, specifically reduced financial frictions, driving this relationship as opposed to supply-side infrastructure expansion. Furthermore, we highlight the enabling role of mobile network coverage and the detrimental impact of mobile money taxes on electrification efforts. |
| Keywords: | mobile money, financial inclusion, electrification, demand-side factors |
| JEL: | O16 O33 Q40 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12921 |
| By: | Jerry Buckland; Christopher Henry; Wendy Nur; Aidan Romanow-Bear; Stephen Wild |
| Abstract: | Previous research suggests that lower-income Canadians may have unique experiences with the use of payments, including the use of cash and digital payments. We conduct a case study using data from the Canadian Financial Diaries (CFD) project to gain insight into how some lower-income Canadians pay. The CFD uses a mixed methods design for financial diaries that combines qualitative and quantitative components to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the finances of 47 Canadians with lower income. We find that diarists use their bank account to facilitate a variety of associated payments; that payment use is habitual; and that the number of monthly transactions can vary widely, both for individual diarists and between [them/diarists]. We conclude with a static analysis that suggests lower-income Canadians who make a lot of transactions during the month could pay lower monthly fees overall if they used an account package with a higher monthly fee. |
| Keywords: | Money and payments; Cash and bank notes; Retail payments |
| JEL: | D83 E41 |
| Date: | 2026–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bca:bocsap:26-6 |
| By: | Ndubuisi, Gideon; Avenyo, Elvis |
| Keywords: | Gender equality, Green transition, Engendering Policy, Gender-Transformative Industrial Policy, G-TRIP, Africa |
| JEL: | O14 O55 O57 J16 |
| Date: | 2026–08–20 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unm:unumer:2026011 |
| By: | International Finance Corporation; International Labour Organization |
| Abstract: | Bangladesh is one of the leading garment exporters globally and a significant employer of women. However, women’s representation in management roles remains very low. To close this gap, as of 2016, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) developed the Gender Equality and Returns (GEAR) Program under Better Work, which is a collaboration between IFC and the International Labor Organization (ILO). Conducted in partnership with factories, management, global apparel brands, and garment workers, GEAR aimed to increase gender equality, improve working conditions, and enhance productivity in the Bangladesh’s garment sector. In 2022, IFC commissioned the University of Oxford and BRAC University to undertake an assessment of the GEAR Program covering the period from 2016 to 2022. The assessment found that more than two-thirds of women who completed GEAR training were promoted to supervisors, and their salaries increased by roughly 40 percent. The average share of female supervisors at participating factories increased from 10 percent to 18 percent. In addition, production lines managed by GEAR-trained supervisors were 2.5 to 4.3 percentage points more efficient than those managed by supervisors who did not receive the training. This translates into annual cost savings of up to US $9, 100 per year, per line, or up to US $182, 000 annually for a typical factory with 20 production lines. |
| Date: | 2026–04–24 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:hdnspu:209818 |
| By: | Cermeño, Alexandra L. (Lund University); Quintigliano, Alessandra (Sapienza University of Rome); Weisdorf, Jacob (Sapienza University of Rome, CAGE, & CEPR) |
| Abstract: | Africa's historical borderlands are persistently associated with low levels of economic development. This paper examines how these regions respond to development interventions, analysing whether the long-run development advantage associated with colonial Christian missions persists near historical homeland borders. Combining georeferenced data on 3, 365 pioneering mission stations with high-resolution satellite night-time luminosity data, we show that the positive association between proximity to missionary activity and contemporary economic development weakens sharply in these borderland areas. This result is robust across a wide range of specifications and is corroborated by evidence on household wealth and human capital from the Demographic and Health Surveys Program. Our findings suggest that the success of development initiatives in the historical borderlands reflects not only the interventions themselves, but also the institutional environments in which they were implemented. |
| Keywords: | Africa, missionaries, development, borderlands, night-time luminosity, spatial analysis. JEL Classification: O1, F35, N10, N17 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cge:wacage:822 |
| By: | Bilal, Adrien; Känzig, Diego |
| Abstract: | This paper estimates that the macroeconomic damages from climate change are an order of magnitude larger than previously thought. Exploiting natural global temperature variability, we find that 1°C warming reduces world GDP by over 20% in the long run. Global temperature correlates strongly with extreme climatic events, un- like country-level temperature used in previous work, explaining our larger estimate. We use this evidence to estimate damage functions in a neoclassical growth model. Business-as-usual warming implies a present welfare loss of more than 30%, and a Social Cost of Carbon in excess of $1, 500 per ton. These impacts suggest that uni- lateral decarbonization policy is cost-effective for large countries such as the United States. |
| Keywords: | Climate change; Macroeconomics |
| JEL: | E01 E23 F18 O44 Q54 Q56 |
| Date: | 2024–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:19203 |