That's the finding of a new study in Bangladesh, which gave reading glasses to hundreds of people and then measured their earnings. Reading glasses are easy to come by in Western countries. But getting a pair in the Global South can be a challenge. A new study shows the surprising benefits that a pair of specs can bring. Jasmin Atker calls her reading glasses her best friend – and a companion she does not take for granted.
But her spectacles do something most best friends don't do: They help her make a lot more money. Atker, 42, is a grandmother who lives in Manikganj, Bangladesh, on a small family farm. It started as a cattle farm producing milk. After she got glasses through a local charity, VisionSpring, in 2022, Atker says, her improved vision enabled her to set up a vegetable patch