Evidence Action's No Lean Season

Abstract

Evidence Action’s No Lean Season program provides no-interest loans to poor rural households in Bangladesh, conditional on an adult household member temporarily migrating to seek work. The program aims to increase income and consumption during the lean season, a period of food insecurity between planting and the rice harvest. Several randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have been conducted to evaluate the program’s effectiveness, with mixed results. Some RCTs found a positive impact on migration rates and household income, while others, including a large-scale study in 2017, did not find significant effects on migration. Despite the mixed evidence, Evidence Action continues to conduct further research and plans to use existing funding to continue implementing the program and evaluating its impact over the next few years. – AI-generated abstract.