Parent Study (a representative sample of Norwegian daycare)

Last registered on May 24, 2023

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Parent Study (a representative sample of Norwegian daycare)
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0010746
Initial registration date
May 19, 2023

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 24, 2023, 1:51 PM EDT

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

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
IIES, Stockholm University

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
Chr. Michelsen Institute
PI Affiliation
Chr. Michelsen Institute
PI Affiliation
Chr. Michelsen Institute
PI Affiliation
University of Chile

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2023-06-01
End date
2024-06-01
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
A significant fraction of governmental programs, welfare arrangements, and cash transfer programs target women.
In matters related to children, most countries have a long tradition of targeting mothers. For example, in Norway, the
child benefits are automatically paid to mothers and 90% of the recipients are mothers. The main reasoning behind
policies that target mothers is that they promote gender equality, empower women, increase investments in
children, and improve child welfare. This can be formalized into two arguments; (i) the maternal argument states
that women are more likely to spend money on goods and services that benefit children than men are, and (ii) the
empowerment argument states that targeting women will increase their control over resources in the household and
therefore empower them.
The empirical evidence on how targeted transfers affect household allocations and child outcomes is still limited,
and we know very little about the mechanisms that generate any such impacts. The aim of this project is to start to
close this gap in the literature by advancing on the measurements, providing novel evidence on the effect of targeted
transfer policies on household resource allocation, and study underlying mechanisms, in a comparative study in ten
countries. To do so, we will develop, harmonize and validate measures that can be used in different contexts to
elicit effects on children of targeting mothers. Using these
improved measurement techniques will allow us to understand whether the maternal and empowerment arguments
are valid, and if so in which contexts, offering innovative insights and significant results that will be important for
science and policy.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Almas, Ingvild et al. 2023. "Parent Study (a representative sample of Norwegian daycare) ." AEA RCT Registry. May 24. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.10746-1.0
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention (Hidden)
Participants who join the study will complete one of two different models of choices in a Qualtrics study. Both groups will be asked to allocate 1700 NOK (approx. 172 USD) between different categories of household expenditures. One group will be asked the question hypothetical and one will have an incentiviced choice where the decision is paid out in gift cards.

Intervention Start Date
2023-06-01
Intervention End Date
2024-06-01

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
The main outcome of interest is how parents allocate 1700 NOK (approx. 172 USD) between
different categories of household expenditures.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
The primary objective of this project is to develop, validate and implement a survey instrument to acquire novel
scientific knowledge on how gender-targeted transfers impact household resource allocation. The aim is that this
survey instrument will not only be useful for the implementation of this project, but also for future research projects
and policy analyses that search for evidence on gender targeting in different contexts.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
The project will identify mechanisms behind any effects from targeted transfers to child welfare and women's empowerment, and
heterogeneous effects such as differences across socioeconomic groups. Overall, the project will contribute
significantly to the scientific literature on household decision-making and women's empowerment, and the results
will be of great importance to actors concerned with increasing child welfare and promoting gender equality.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Not currently available for public.
Experimental Design Details
The population of interest is parents with young children, i.e. parents that receive child support from the Norwegian government. Our aim is to investigate whether it makes a difference if transfers are allocated to fathers or to mothers. To identify the relevant population of adults we use registers from official child care institutions.

From the universe of child care institutions we will randomly draw a representative sample, covering approximately 6000 children of ages 2 to 4. The day-care centers who agree to take part in the study will send an invitation letter to parents. Among the parents who consent to take part in the study, we will randomize whether the survey link is sent to the mother or the father of the child/children. We randomly assign parents to the hypothetical or incentivized group at the day-care center level, aiming for approximately 5000 parents in the hypothetical choice group and 1000 parents in the incentivized choice group.

The primary source of data is a 10-15 min electronic survey of parents of children between 2 and 4 years old. The survey consists of the allocation choice as well as questions about the background of the parent and the household. The survey will be distributed using Qualtrics. We will additionally ask Statistics Norway (SSB) to merge the survey information to background characteristics of the parents parents’ income, education, transfers, labor market participation, sick leave, parental leave, and country background. When the children get older, we will also ask SSB to merge information about national test scores and time of completion of education.
Randomization Method
Computerized program.
Randomization Unit
We have drawn a national representative sample of 160 day-care centers, covering approx. 6000 children. Among the parents who consent to take part in the study, we will randomize whether the survey link is sent to the mother or the father of the child/children.
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
160 day-care centers.
Sample size: planned number of observations
5760 parents.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
1152 parents incentivized, 4608 hypothetical.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
0.2 St. Dev., with 80% power, significance level of 5% and intra-cluster correlation of 0.1.
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IRB Approval Date
IRB Approval Number

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