Improved/ cheaper access to products and services increases welfare of the poor

This webpage summarises evidence on the impact of improved/ cheaper access to products and services by the poor on their their welfare – beyond increased revenues. This may include improvements in health-related, educational or other social dimensions of poverty.

There is some research focusing on the health impacts of inclusive business models in the health sector:

An in-depth case study of for-profit mobile money platforms in Kenya (Business Call to Action, 2016) finds that mobile money technology has generated benefits to both inclusive businesses providing healthcare to the “bottom of the pyramid” (BoP) and to the populations they serve. The benefits afforded by mobile money to BoP populations include, among others, increased access to quality and affordable healthcare, such as through mobile money-based e-vouchers that are only redeemable at accredited healthcare facilities.
A field experiment by Christensen et al. (2014) in Malawi provides empirical evidence that for-profit strategies are more effective than free hand-outs in ensuring continued usage of health-related products by poor consumers.