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• Other Unpublished Work | 2013

  Saving More to Borrow Less: Evidence from Randomized Access to Formal Savings Accounts in Chile

  Felipe Kast and Dina D. Pomeranz

  Poverty is often characterized not only by low average income, but also by highly variable income and expenditures, and a lack of access to insurance services that can help smooth consumption. We investigate whether access to a formal savings account can provide a vehicle for self-insurance, by allowing participants to build a buffer stock of precautionary savings. In a randomized field experiment in Chile, about 3000 low-income micro-entrepreneurs are provided access to a formal savings account with no minimum balance or maintenance fees. Evaluating the impact after one year, we find that access to such accounts helps participants alleviate the burden of economic shocks, both objectively and subjectively. Participants with access to a savings account have less informal debt, fewer outstanding payments, and less often need to reduce consumption due to economic difficulties. Subjectively, they report being less worried about their financial future, and evaluate their recent economic situation as less severe. We therefore conclude that formal savings accounts can be an effective vehicle to provide a means for consumption smoothing in contexts where many other forms of insurance are lacking.

  Keywords: Income Characteristics; Borrowing and Debt; Personal Finance; Saving; Spending; Consumer Behavior; Poverty; Chile;

  Citation:

  Kast, Felipe, and Dina D. Pomeranz. "Saving More to Borrow Less: Evidence from Randomized Access to Formal Savings Accounts in Chile." 2013.

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• Course Overview Note | 2013 (Revised from original 2013 version)

  The Entrepreneurial Manager: Course Overview, 2013 Winter Term

  Richard G. Hamermesh, Richard G. Hamermesh and Thomas Eisenmann

  Course overview of The Entrepreneurial Manager.

  Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Management; Business Education;

  Citation:

  Hamermesh, Richard G., and Thomas Eisenmann. "The Entrepreneurial Manager: Course Overview, 2013 Winter Term." Harvard Business School Course Overview Note 813-155, January 2013. (Revised from original January 2013 version.)

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | 2013 (Revised from original 2012 version)

  Companion Diagnostics: Uncertainties for Approval and Reimbursement

  Richard G. Hamermesh, Norman C. Selby and Phillip Andrews

  The FDA approvals of novel therapeutics were seen as signs in the personalized medicine community of real progress in the growth of personalized medicine. The FDA's approval of such drugs, along with companion diagnostics, suggested a shift in thinking and regulatory practices at the agency. Beyond the regulatory questions, many considered the reimbursement system archaic, dispersed, unpredictable, and unnecessarily time consuming. Many questioned whether the traditional models of reimbursement were relevant in the era of personalized medicine, and who should be covering the cost of tests needed to identify the sometimes small number of patients who could benefit from expensive targeted drugs. This case focuses on the array of possibilities and the ambiguity surrounding these regulatory and reimbursement issues.

  Keywords: models of reimbursement; personalized medicine; regulation; healthcare reform; Health Care and Treatment; Health Industry; United States;

  Citation:

  Hamermesh, Richard G., Norman C. Selby, and Phillip Andrews. "Companion Diagnostics: Uncertainties for Approval and Reimbursement." Harvard Business School Case 813-037, January 2013. (Revised from original November 2012 version.)

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