Zambia

Do failures to recall known future expenses contribute to undersaving and seasonal poverty? This study tests whether prompting people to think through upcoming expenses—without giving new information—changes remembered spending and real financial behavior. Using a randomized field experiment among farmers in Zambia and a replication of belief effects among low-income Americans, the authors examine whether associative prompts reduce retrieval failures, raise savings, and smooth consumption over the hungry season.

Where formal state authority is limited, local leaders often drive political mobilization — but why are some leaders more effective than others? This study introduces the concept of encompassing authority: how widely individuals perceive a leader as influencing multiple domains of their lives. Using original survey data from Zambia’s 2021 elections, the authors compare religious leaders, chiefs, and local councillors and test whether encompassing authority predicts mobilization beyond leader traits and voter characteristics.

Religious messages are often assumed to be especially persuasive in highly religious countries. This expectation was tested in Zambia, an overwhelmingly Christian, youth‑skewed country, through a community‑collaborative intervention implemented just before national elections.