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.