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Loose knots: Strong versus weak commitments to save for education in Uganda
1Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, Global Poverty Research Lab, NBER, CEPR, United States.
Journal of Development Economics
|May 2, 2025
Summary
Children saved more in a weaker commitment savings program, leading to increased educational spending and improved test scores. Strict commitment accounts showed no educational benefits.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral Economics
- Development Economics
- Education Policy
Background:
- Commitment devices can restrict future choices but may reduce participation.
- School-based savings programs aim to encourage saving for educational expenses.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of commitment strength in savings programs on children's educational outcomes.
- To compare fully committed accounts versus weaker commitment accounts for educational savings in Uganda.
Main Methods:
- A school-based commitment savings program was implemented in Uganda.
- Two treatment arms were compared: a fully committed account and a weaker commitment account (cash withdrawal).
- Parental outreach was combined with the savings programs.
Main Results:
- Children saved more in the weaker commitment account.
- The weaker commitment account, combined with parental outreach, led to increased spending on educational supplies and a 0.10 standard deviation improvement in test scores.
- Fully committed accounts and neither account type showed impacts on attendance, enrollment, or non-cognitive skills.
Conclusions:
- Weaker commitment savings devices may be more effective in promoting educational savings and outcomes than strict commitment devices.
- The design of commitment devices is crucial for maximizing their impact on financial behavior and educational attainment.
- Savings programs need careful design to yield tangible improvements in educational investments and performance.
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