Impacts of Small-Scale Biogas Technology on Energy Access in Egypt

Last registered on January 30, 2023
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Impacts of Small-Scale Biogas Technology on Energy Access in Egypt
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0010770
Initial registration date
January 25, 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
January 30, 2023, 1:49 AM EST

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

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Marc Witte
Affiliation
IZA - Institute of Labor Economics
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Olivier Deschenes
PI Affiliation
University of California, Santa Barbara
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PI Name
Ahmed Elsayed
PI Affiliation
American University in Cairo
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PI Name
Samer Atallah
PI Affiliation
American University in Cairo
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PI Name
Nico Pestel
PI Affiliation
Maastricht University
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2023-02-10
End date
2024-12-31
Keywords
Environment & Energy
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This project studies barriers to the adoption of biogas digesters in rural Egypt. In particular, we want to understand whether information and credit constraints are barriers preventing the take-up of biogas technology among rural agricultural households. The project combines qualitative work and focus group interviews with a large survey and survey experiment. We conduct a representative survey with 1,000 agricultural households in the Nile Delta region of Egypt. Of these households, 100 will be sampled conditional on already having a biogas digester, while the remaining 900 will not. For the 900 households without a biogas unit, we will study barriers to biogas take-up with a survey experiment. We experimentally allocate the 900 households without biogas digesters to different treatment arms, aiming at understanding informational and financial barriers to take-up.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Atallah, Samer et al. 2023. "Impacts of Small-Scale Biogas Technology on Energy Access in Egypt." AEA RCT Registry. January 30. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.10770-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
We conduct a representative survey with 1,000 agricultural households in the Nile Delta region of Egypt. Of these households, 100 will be sampled conditional on already having a biogas digester, while the remaining 900 will not. For the 900 households without a biogas unit, we will study barriers to biogas take-up with a survey experiment. We experimentally allocate the 900 households without biogas digesters to different treatment arms, aiming at understanding informational and financial barriers to take-up.

In a first margin of treatment variation, we provide households with information on the biogas technology, in two different treatment arms. Households in treatment arm 1 (T1) will watch an informational video on the benefits of biogas digesters in Rural Egypt. Households in the control arm will not receive any information treatment. In the second margin of treatment variation, we study financial barriers to biogas take-up. Households in this treatment arm (T2) will be confronted with the following hypothetical subsidy scenario:

“Imagine you are offered a subsidy of [0/25/50/75]% of the construction and maintenance costs of a biogas unit, which are 16,000 EGP, would you invest in the biogas digester for your household?”

We randomly vary whether the subsidy covers 75%, 50%, 25%, or 0% of the construction and maintenance costs, to be able to trace a potential demand curve. This will ultimately be helpful in designing the optimal level of subsidy in a large-scale experiment. To increase the stakes of households in this treatment group, we will offer one actual subsidy (for each of the three subsidy levels) via a lottery.

Overall, we will thus allocate households to eight different cells and can test combinations of the information treatment and various subsidy levels.
Intervention Start Date
2023-02-10
Intervention End Date
2023-05-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Immediately after completing the survey, we will measure the following outcomes as measures of potential biogas take-up and use: first, we will capture a household’s decision to sign-up for a lottery of an actual biogas subsidy (of the four amounts 0%/25%/50%/75%). Second, we will conduct an incentivized willingness-to-pay (WTP) exercise for one actual biogas unit.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We experimentally allocate 900 households without biogas digesters to different treatment arms, aiming at understanding informational and financial barriers to take-up.

In a first margin of treatment variation, we provide households with information on the biogas technology, in two different treatment arms. Households in treatment arm 1 (T1) will watch an informational video on the benefits of biogas digesters in Rural Egypt. Households in the control arm will not receive any information treatment. In the second margin of treatment variation, we study financial barriers to biogas take-up. Households in this treatment arm (T2) will be confronted with the following hypothetical subsidy scenario:

“Imagine you are offered a subsidy of [0/25/50/75]% of the construction and maintenance costs of a biogas unit, which are 16,000 EGP, would you invest in the biogas digester for your household?”

We randomly vary whether the subsidy covers 75%, 50%, 25%, or 0% of the construction and maintenance costs, to be able to trace a potential demand curve. This will ultimately be helpful in designing the optimal level of subsidy in a large-scale experiment. To increase the stakes of households in this treatment group, we will offer one actual subsidy (for each of the three subsidy levels) via a lottery.

Overall, we will thus allocate households to eight different cells and can test combinations of the information treatment and various subsidy levels. Immediately after completing the survey, we will measure the following outcomes as measures of potential biogas take-up and use: first, we will capture a household’s decision to sign-up for a lottery of an actual biogas subsidy (of the four amounts 0%/25%/50%/75%). Second, we will conduct an incentivized willingness-to-pay (WTP) exercise for one actual biogas unit.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization done in office by a computer
Randomization Unit
Household
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
900 households
Sample size: planned number of observations
900 households
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Treatment 1: informational video -- 450 household video + 450 households control = 900 households in total.
Treatment 2: hypothetical subsidy with four levels (0%/25%/50%/75%): 225 households per level.

Treatments 1 and 2 are orthogonal to each other, with 112 or 113 households in each cell of the eight possible combinations.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
The American University in Cairo
IRB Approval Date
2021-12-29
IRB Approval Number
2021-2022-081
Analysis Plan