Position Paper is an output that captures certain themes that we feel strongly about at Dvara Research. These are written in the form of an opinion or argument on a particular issue, and it represents Dvara Research’s position on the issue.
Our submission in this paper is that impact measurement in financial inclusion, i.e., financial health measurement can, and ought to, play a more diagnostic role in financial inclusion strategy. This is the conceptual departure that the title of the paper describes as the shift ‘from a canary in a coalmine to a thermostat’.
The paper starts by revisiting existing literature on the financial lives of LIHs that shows that they manage their finances in a rather sophisticated manner. This can be traced to the radical uncertainty they face, which includes a “triple whammy” of income problems and expenditure shocks that are frequent and unique to their circumstances.
The financial crisis of 2008 brought to light many consumer abuses prevalent in the financial services industry.
In all our research efforts, we strive to maintain an independent voice that speaks for the low-income household and household enterprises. Our ability to perform this function is significantly enhanced by our commitment to disseminate as a pure public good, all the intellectual capital that we create.
