clients, it appears that some women who desired the commitment feature of the SEED account
had husbands who did not want to have any household funds tied up.19
There are other more superficial explanations: the Green Bank engaged in no activity
whatsoever to promote continually the SEED account or encourage individuals to use the
account. If in each moment in time a client has a certain probability, less than one, of continuing
to use the account, then clearly usage in aggregate will diminish over time. Perhaps the product
would have been more successful in the long run with continued marketing and promotion, by
asking clients for an active decision to renew (Choi, Laibson, Madrian and Metrick 2005), or
through interventions that automatically defaulted clients into depositing into the account.
Through continued experimentation in this and other settings, we can learn more about
how savings product design can help individuals fulfill their savings plans, whether savings
product designs alter savings plans, and how these impacts on household decision making affect
the efficacy of different savings products. The results here suggest that design features appeal to
those with self-control, and have a positive impact on spousal control. These are not
contradictory findings, but rather point out that a simple design feature such as a restriction on
withdrawals can benefit both those in search of self control devices as well as those who desire to
have more decision making power in the household.
19 One woman who was not able to reach her goal complained that her “husband would not let her save; he
said they needed to be able to get the money.” Another woman said she “always fought with [her] husband
about not being able to withdraw the money in an emergency.” Similarly, a lab experiment conducted with
clients of the Green Bank in the Philippines finds that married men will act strategically and shield
experimental money from their wives when possible, especially when their wife is the primary decision-
maker for household savings (Ashraf 2005).
14