Rafael Mazer has recently joined CGAP’s Government and Policy team.  In this post, he shares his impressions from a recent branchless banking policy workshop in Brazil.

For regulators and policy-makers, the term “unintended consequences” is the type of phrase that can cause panic and immediate spin-control, recalling images of overlooked constituencies calling their local representatives to demand action to reverse the damage done by the new policies. But what about the other side of unintended consequences, when a policy innovation goes beyond its original intentions and provides wider benefits than anticipated?

Read the rest of this page »