Week of April 6, 2015

1. Digital Payments: A body of research contains evidence that people spend more with credit cards than cash because the former reduces the "pain of paying." Do mobile wallets like Apple Pay increase or relieve this pain? The Atlantic

2. G2P Transfers: The US doesn't drug test farmers receiving crop subsidies or requirePell Grant recipients to limit their field of study - so why do the poor have to prove they are worthy of aid? The Washington Post

3. Mobile Money Agents: Agents in Uganda use creative ways to "bend the rules" in order to meet the needs of a diverse customer base. Helix

4. Economics of Gender: A new report (and interactive digital tools) examines the current state of women’s economic, social, and political progress in the US. Despite gains over the past few decades in educational attainment, women have higher rates of poverty, earn less, and have lower rates of business ownership than male peers. IWPR

5. Financial Inclusion: Tilman Ehrbeck, who recently moved from CGAP to Omidyar Network, discusses the value that finance apps that go beyond enabling payments may bring. Huffington Post

October 13, 2026

Financial Access Initiative

The Swarm Edition

Editor’s Note: I’m going to assume that you are seeing plenty of AI content (news and papers, not AI slop, though I’m sure you’re getting plenty of that too) from other sources, so I’m trying to think hard about the marginal value that the faiV can provide. As far as I’ve gotten so far: a) make sure that directly AI-related content does not take up more than 2 of the 5 items, and b) try to focus specifically on the cybersecurity issue for financial inclusion. Beyond that, I’m open to feedback on the value you get from the faiV in relation to AI to help guide us in the future. On a different note, I’ll be making a brief cameo appearance at the e-MFP Inclusive Finance Conference to moderate the opening plenary. If you haven’t registered, do so and I hope to see you there! - Tim Ogden

October 6, 2026

Laura Freschi

Rereading Michael Kremer

Ten years ago, FAI managing director Tim Ogden published Experimental Conversations, a collection of interviews with economists and other people who critique, promote, and use randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in development economics. One of the interviewees was Michael Kremer, a pioneer of the movement, now a Nobel laureate, and recently appointed Chief Economist of the World Bank.

August 13, 2026

The Massive DDoS Edition

Editor's Note:

If you were hoping that the faiV would be a pleasant distraction from the overwhelming flow of AI-related content, sorry. For the record, the faiV had “ai” built in before Anthropic existed. And a housekeeping note: we’ve finally jumped ship from Mailchimp to NYU’s mailing platform—I guess if you’re reading this it’s been a seamless transition and if you’re not, well, you’re not. Feedback on the faiV’s content and format and delivery methods is always welcome, just drop me an email.

- Tim Ogden

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