Empowering the disabled through savings groups: Experimental evidence from Uganda.

Abstract

We report from the first randomized controlled trial of a development program targeting people with disabilities: a village savings‐ and loans program in rural Uganda. We find that it has had a strong, positive impact on the lives of the disabled participants, through providing access to financial services and strengthening locus of control. Our results suggest that such programs may represent a promising tool to empowering people living with disabilities in developing countries, but also that more comprehensive measures may be needed to overcome taste‐based discrimination against disabled individuals.