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Behavioral science can help increase economic inclusion programs

Nairobi, Kenya, Mar 24 – Behavioral science can help increase the impact of economic inclusion, according to Idea42.

Through this, it provides awareness of issues that can lead to the effectiveness of programs that rely on people’s behaviors.

Governments and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) can also help ensure programs are designed with human behavior in mind by understanding and incorporating behavioral science into economic inclusion programming.

Behavioral science aids in understanding how people’s lifestyles influence their behavior.

It also helps in recognizing setbacks, adjusting economic programming, and making light interventions in the way programs are designed to make it easier for participants to make optimal use of the services and benefits provided.

Behavioral interventions are usually more effective compared to other ways of achieving economic inclusion goals.

Incorporating behavioral science into economic inclusion programming has the potential to assist governments and NGOs in making the best use of limited resources in order to alleviate poverty for a large number of people.

For example, in Kenya, ideas42 worked with the government’s Directorate of Social Assistance and the World Bank.

The idea helped in designing several behavioral interventions in Kenya. It resulted in 41 percent more cash transfer recipients moving toward a long-term goal or investment.

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Governments are now increasing these interventions to reach more cash transfer recipients, aiming to impact millions of lives and reduce poverty.

Ideas42 has been working on using behavioral science in cash transfers in collaboration with the World Bank since 2015 and has collaborated with ten countries to bring behavioral interventions to their cash transfer programs.

Kenya received a 41 percent savings boost upon behavioral interventions towards financial goals.

Tanzania received a 65 percent savings increase.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), behavioral interventions were 8.3 times more effective at increasing the amount spent toward recipients’ financial goals than simply giving them extra cash equivalent to the amount used to implement them.

Ideas42 developed a website called cashtransfers.ideas42.org to address common behavioral barriers found among cash transfer recipients.

It is a nonprofit program that uses behavioral science to fight global inequality by researching and designing solutions to improve the effectiveness of cash transfers.

In sub-Saharan Africa, ideas42 found that behavioral interventions can help cash transfer recipients set and reach their financial goals, such as saving for school fees or investing in businesses.

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