One-Time Transfers of Cash or Capital Have Long-Lasting Effects on Microenterprises in Sri Lanka

Standard economic theory suggests that one-time business grants can have at most temporary effects, and accordingly, policies to increase incomes of the self-employed in developing countries typically rely on sustained engagement. In contrast, we found long-lasting impacts from one-time grants given in a randomized experiment to subsistence firms. Five years after we gave 100 or 00 to 115 of 197 male and 100 of 190 female Sri Lankan...