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Precautionary savings and shock-coping behaviors: Effects of promoting mobile bank savings on transactional sex in Kenya

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  • Jones, Kelly
  • Gong, Erick

Abstract

For the vulnerable, even small shocks can have significant short- and long-term impacts. Beneficial shock-coping mechanisms are not widely available in sub-Saharan Africa. We test whether an individual precautionary savings intervention can reduce a shock-coping behavior common in sub-Saharan Africa that has negative spillovers: transactional sex. Among a set of vulnerable women, we randomly assigned an intervention that promoted savings in a mobile banking account labeled for goals and emergency expenses. We find that a majority of individuals adopt the mobile account and the intervention led to reductions in transactional sex as a shock-coping response, and a decrease in symptoms of sexually transmitted infections. Changes are sustained in the medium-term among sex workers, but not among other vulnerable women.

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  • Jones, Kelly & Gong, Erick, 2021. "Precautionary savings and shock-coping behaviors: Effects of promoting mobile bank savings on transactional sex in Kenya," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jhecon:v:78:y:2021:i:c:s016762962100045x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2021.102460
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Savings; Risk-coping; Transactional sex; Sexual behavior; Sexually transmitted infections;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • D14 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Saving; Personal Finance
    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

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