Mobile money has spurred improvements in household welfare, but its use among women lags behind that of men's. This gap is especially pronounced in Bangladesh, where only 10 percent of women, compared to 32 percent of men, had a mobile money account in 2017 and where only a small share of mobile money agents were women. We use a randomized controlled trial to measure the effects of employing women as mobile money agents on the economic outcomes of the small businesses that offer mobile money services and on business owners' and customers' attitudes towards women's labor force participation; on the effects of working on the incomes, skill accumulation, and autonomy of women compared to men; and whether the availability of female mobile money agents increases the use of mobile money by female customers.
The study is designed to measure the differential economic impact of hiring male and female mobile money agents on workers and on business-development (e.g. the number of male and female customers) in a context with low female labor force participation and low access to mobile money by women.
Measuring the effects of employing women as mobile money agents on whether the availability of female mobile money agents increases the use of mobile money by female customers.
- Xavier Giné
- Jessica Goldberg
- Lore Vandewalle
- Carlotta Nani
- Anusuya Sivaram
- Ashraf Mian