Reproducibility package for Impacts and Spillovers of a Low-Cost Multi-faceted Economic Inclusion Program in Chad

We conduct a randomized control trial to analyze the direct effects and local spillovers of a low-cost multi-faceted economic inclusion program in Chad. The intervention includes group savings promotion, micro-entrepreneurship training and a lump-sum cash grant delivered to poor female beneficiaries of a regular cash transfer program. It was designed to address multiple constraints to productivity and livelihoods, but at a much lower cost (approximately $104 per household) than most stand-alone NGO graduation pilots and government-led economic inclusion programs. Results show substantial impacts on food consumption 18 months after the intervention. A reallocation of labor between economic activities is observed, along with higher revenues from agriculture and off-farm micro-enterprises. The intervention improves women's empowerment and some dimensions of social well-being. We find evidence of positive local spillovers, with improvements in food consumption and economic activities among households not assigned to the economic inclusion program in targeted villages. Results are consistent with the intervention broadly improving saving, sharing and financial support mechanisms, as well as potential demand-side effects in the labor and product markets. Once spillovers are accounted for, the intervention becomes cost-effective without assuming that any impact persists past the 18-months follow-up survey.