Emergency Savings Accounts for Remittance Receivers in Mexico

Last registered on July 26, 2016
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Emergency Savings Accounts for Remittance Receivers in Mexico
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0001392
Initial registration date
July 26, 2016

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
July 26, 2016, 3:04 PM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Country
Mexico
Region
Latin America

Primary Investigator

Name
Dean Karlan
Affiliation
Northwestern University
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Sendhil Mullainathan
PI Affiliation
Harvard University
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2006-01-01
End date
2008-12-31
Keywords
Finance & Microfinance
Additional Keywords
Remittances, Savings
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Abstract
By the year 2000, individuals living outside their country of birth had grown to nearly 3 percent of the world' s population, reaching a total 175 million people. The money many of these migrants send home, remittances, is an important but relatively poorly understood type of international fi
External Link(s)
J-PAL Evaluation Summary

Registration Citation

Citation
Karlan, Dean and Sendhil Mullainathan. 2016. "Emergency Savings Accounts for Remittance Receivers in Mexico." AEA RCT Registry. July 26. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.1392-1.0
Former Citation
Karlan, Dean and Sendhil Mullainathan. 2016. "Emergency Savings Accounts for Remittance Receivers in Mexico." AEA RCT Registry. July 26. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/1392/history/9739
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
The total sample of 783 remittance receivers were randomly assigned to either the treatment or the comparison group. For clients assigned to the treatment group, the system automatically informed CNS staff to offer TFS product. During their subsequent visits, CNS staff continued to offer the product until clients opened the account. For those who were assigned to the comparison group, CNS staff followed routine process, and did not offer the TFS product.
Intervention Start Date
2006-01-01
Intervention End Date
2008-12-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Take-up of TFS account, and impact on savings.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
In an effort to increase savings among remittance receivers, at the onset of the project, CNS offered a saving account called "Tu Futuro Seguro" (TFS), or "Your Secure Future," to any remittance receivers in its four branches. The account paid 7 percent annually, compounded every month, with no restrictions on withdrawals or deposits. It had no starting fees but required the client to sign a non-binding agreement to save a predetermined amount of money for every remittance received. The client decided that amount, although CNS suggested US$20, US$50, or US$100. The client could also make deposits from any other source of income. As the name suggests, the account was marketed to clients as an account to save for emergencies, future economic shocks, and future illnesses. Though clients could withdraw funds, they were encouraged to use the money only for an emergency purpose.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
detailed in project log
Randomization Unit
Remittance receivers
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
N/A, no cluster.
Sample size: planned number of observations
The total sample of 783 remittance receivers were randomly assigned to either the treatment or the comparison group.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Treatment: 386 remittance bene
Control: 397
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IRB Approval Date
IRB Approval Number
Analysis Plan

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials