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More loans, better skills, safer spaces: Evidence from clustering savings groups in Afghanistan

Last registered on May 27, 2019

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Business training, networks, and seed grants for female entrepreneurs in Afghanistan
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0004035
Initial registration date
May 23, 2019

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
May 27, 2019, 4:54 PM EDT

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

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
Chapin Hall, University of Chicago
PI Affiliation
World Bank
PI Affiliation
World Bank

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2018-01-22
End date
2022-06-30
Secondary IDs
Abstract
Afghanistan is not only one of the poorest countries in the world, it also ranks among the most gender-unequal societies. The latter is reflected in its restrictive social norms and gender roles that translate into large gaps in economic empowerment of women compared to men. Only 29 percent of women in Afghanistan participate in the labor force, and only 27 percent of these women are engaged in paid employment (ALCS 2013-14). While female wage employment barely exists, women rely on self-employment as a more practical way of earning income: self-employment activities can be carried out at home, close to the household chores, and in accordance with gender norms and roles. However, these female small-scale enterprises are hold back as they lack crucial factors for business success. Self-employed women are to a large extent excluded from trade and purchase networks, financial services like loans, and higher education by the restrictive gender norms that prohibit mobility and interactions of women with the other sex outside of their home. At the same time command over resources (e.g. own generated income or acquired loans) is usually controlled by husbands or other household members: Women lack a voice in household spending and investments, with 90 percent of households stating that, for instance, the decisions on taking up or paying back loans are made mainly by men (NRVA 2007/8). Against this backdrop, any program that aims to effectively tackle poverty and increase female economic empowerment in Afghanistan needs a comprehensive strategy that takes the cultural context into account.

We study a comprehensive intervention designed to encourage female economic inclusion in 4 provinces (11 districts) in Afghanistan. The intervention builds on mostly female pre-existing local savings groups, which are combined into 90 clusters of 5 to 15 groups each. For the 45 randomly selected treatment clusters, we use these clusters to install "platforms for economic empowerment". The intervention studied here takes a graduation approach — i.e. it responds to the complexity of the matter by easing multiple economic constraints faced by poor women at the same time: The community-owned platforms are used to diminish credit constraints by disbursing externally funded small revolving loans, feed business and vocational training to enhance human capital where needed, and provide socio-emotional skill training known to be helpful to entrepreneurs. Most importantly, the intervention does not stop there, but takes into account the multiple additional struggles related to gender roles and social norms that hinder women in particular to run a successful business in Afghanistan. The empowerment platforms at cluster level are intended to act as catalysts for network formation beyond the local groups. Thereby, the platforms
• enable women to take advantage of economies of scale (e.g. by pooling risk at a larger scale, finance larger-sized loans to members),
• aggregate women’s production inputs and outputs and facilitate market linkages (e.g. by providing market intermediation assistance, organization of regional trade fairs, identifying and facilitating purchasing and trade partnerships),
• foster agency and mutual support against restrictive social norms.

We investigate the effects of the intervention on outcomes related to business performance, female economic empowerment, and well-being.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Chakravarty, Shubha et al. 2019. "Business training, networks, and seed grants for female entrepreneurs in Afghanistan." AEA RCT Registry. May 27. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.4035-1.0
Former Citation
Chakravarty, Shubha et al. 2019. "Business training, networks, and seed grants for female entrepreneurs in Afghanistan." AEA RCT Registry. May 27. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/4035/history/47125
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2018-10-15
Intervention End Date
2020-06-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Portfolio of (income generating) activities;
Business performance (Most common products/prices/quantities/where sold; Earnings; Hours worked)
Household wealth (Consumption; Food security; Assets);
Female empowerment (Attitudes; Mobility; Marital status; Decision-making in the household; Sanitation infrastructure)

Primary Outcomes (explanation)
• Decision-making in the household: over productive assets, income use, household activities
• Attitudes: Decision making, confidence, social inclusion, problem solving, growth mindset, gender attitudes, optimism, self-efficacy, perceptions of available economic opportunities, household dynamics, barriers to economic empowerment, access to inputs and support services, community support and attitudes

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Business skills (Hard skills and attitudes specific to the training program contents);
Financial behavior (Savings behavior, Loan behavior, Investment behavior);
Financial inclusion (Formal bank account, Financial literacy);
Community participation (Agency; Collective bargaining)
Community support (Attitudes towards female participation in income generating activities)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)
• Loan behavior: source, amount, duration, risk, interest paid, repayment, use
• Savings behavior: location, amount
• Investment behavior: volume, type, purpose
• Collective bargaining: participation in purchasing networks, sales networks, trade partnerships, socialization, mentorship, market access

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The basic design of the impact evaluation is a 2-arm RCT. This RCT will be supported by other evaluation methods, to study the impact of the program, as well as the mechanisms through which that impact will be achieved.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization was done in STATA by random number generation.
Randomization Unit
Clusters of saving groups.
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
90 clusters of saving groups.
Sample size: planned number of observations
At baseline, the survey team approached 2386 households -- data was collected for 2164 households. For each household, the sampled saving group member as well as the most knowledgable person in the household was interviewed.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
A total of 45 clusters of saving groups were assigned to the treatment and control arms, respectively. At baseline, 1107 households were interviewed in the treatment and 1057 in the control group.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Health Media Lab IRB
IRB Approval Date
2018-07-20
IRB Approval Number
N/A

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