Heuristics on Call: The Impact of Mobile-Phone-Based Business-Management Advice.

This article focuses on a two-site randomized evaluation of a mobile-phone-based financial-heuristics business training program for micro-entrepreneurs in India and the Philippines. The intervention, delivered via weekly interactive voice response (IVR) messages over 20–22 weeks in partnership with local microfinance institutions, significantly improved the adoption of recommended business practices by 0.06 to 0.12 standard deviation points, representing 20–40 percent of the effect size found in traditional, higher-cost training programs. However, the study found no statistically significant impact on business sales or profits, with financial outcomes exhibiting substantial noise. Engagement with the training was generally high, especially among older participants in the Philippines and those owning mobile phones in both countries. Heterogeneity analysis indicated stronger effects on business practices among younger and smaller-scale entrepreneurs in the Philippines, while no significant heterogeneity was observed in India. The findings suggest that mobile-phone-based training can be a cost-effective and scalable method to improve business management behaviors among micro-entrepreneurs, though its effects on firm financial performance remain uncertain.