Lipscomb Molly, Schechter Laura
UVA, USA.
UW Madison, USA.
J Dev Econ. 2018 Nov;135:235-254. doi: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2018.07.007.
The proliferation of mobile money across developing countries has led to an increase in availability of mobile payment systems. This decreases the organizational complexity of allowing more flexible payment terms for customers. We test whether subsidies, deposit requirements, and access to a mobile money savings vehicle increase the propensity of households to purchase an improved but more expensive sanitation service. While high subsidies increase purchases of the improved service, interventions inspired by mental accounting such as deposit requirements and earmarked savings accounts do not. The option to save in earmarked accounts using mobile money caused households to substitute away from purchasing the improved service in the general market and towards purchasing it through our providers, rather than substituting away from the unimproved service. We discuss implications for mental accounting-based policies compared to more traditional subsidies.
移动货币在发展中国家的普及导致了移动支付系统可用性的增加。这降低了为客户提供更灵活支付条款的组织复杂性。我们测试补贴、存款要求以及使用移动货币储蓄工具是否会增加家庭购买改进但更昂贵的卫生服务的倾向。虽然高额补贴会增加对改进服务的购买，但诸如存款要求和专用储蓄账户等受心理账户启发的干预措施却不会。使用移动货币在专用账户中储蓄的选择导致家庭从在一般市场购买改进服务转向通过我们的供应商购买，而不是从不改进的服务转向购买改进服务。我们讨论了基于心理账户的政策与更传统补贴相比的影响。
