Exploring the role of intra-household bargaining on the take-up, usage and effects of an e-bank and savings account offered to women in Tanzania
Globally, one in three women are not engaged with formal financial
systems, with the lowest prevalence in developing countries. Some
financial service providers have responded by developing financial
products and services specifically targeting women. However, broader
social and political constraints that interact with and prevent women
from fully utilizing these products and services are often not
considered, resulting in low uptake or little to no effect on their
economic empowerment. Recent evidence suggests that one such constraint
could be women’s low intra-household bargaining power.
Research has found that intra-household dynamics have important
implications for how money is used in a household, and who makes use of
the money. Quantitative and qualitative work suggests that family
pressure (especially that of the husband) can negatively affect the
ability of women to utilize money as they want, due to their low
bargaining power in the household. There is significant evidence that,
for some women, sharing money with the household is not their preferred
choice. This is especially common in countries where women have few
rights to household resources.
This study explores the role of intra-household bargaining on the
take-up, usage, and effects of e-bank and savings accounts offered to
female entrepreneurs in Tanzania, by varying the involvement of
participants’ husbands. In addition, in some households both spouses
will be invited to a training programme that aims to improve the quality
of household decision making.
Publications
Project start:
01. March 2018
Project end:
31. December 2022
Project management:
Prof. Dr. Nathan Fiala
Project staff:
Dr. Annekathrin Schoofs
Project partners:
Innovations for Poverty,
University of Connecticut
Principal:
International Development Research Centre