Integrating saving into microenterprise programs for the poor: Do institutions matter?

This study examines factors that affect saving performance among participants in a subsidized saving program who intend to use their savings to help capitalize a microenterprise. Using data from 14 community-based organizations promoting self-employment among the poor, and drawing on institutional theory, we find that individual-level theories do not fully explain the variance in savings and that institutional influences also are predictive. Policy makers may want to consider a range of institutional characteristics when designing policies and programs aimed at promoting self-employment among poor families.