Information provision and lifelong learning: Evidence from a field experiment

Last registered on May 26, 2023
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Information provision and lifelong learning: Evidence from a field experiment
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0010878
Initial registration date
January 27, 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, 2:07 AM EST

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

Last updated
May 26, 2023, 3:45 AM EDT

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

Country
Finland
Region
A countrywide experiment

Primary Investigator

Name
Hannu Karhunen
Affiliation
The Labour Institute for Economic Research LABORE
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Antti Kauhanen
PI Affiliation
ETLA Economic Research
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PI Name
Jani-Petteri Ollikainen
PI Affiliation
The Labour Institute for Economic Research LABORE
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PI Name
Krista Riukula
PI Affiliation
ETLA Economic Research
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PI Name
Tuomo Suhonen
PI Affiliation
The Labour Institute for Economic Research LABORE
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PI Name
Hanna Virtanen
PI Affiliation
ETLA Economic Research
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2023-02-12
End date
2025-12-31
Keywords
Education, Labor
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
I24, I28, J24
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This experiment studies the effects of providing information regarding life long learning on enrollment in adult education and labor market outcomes.The information consisted of a pamphlet from Finland’s Service Centre for Continuous Learning and Employment (SECLE) that described the returns to adult education and provided guidance for applying and seeking financial support. The information was targeted to individuals in Finland without secondary education. The target group contained roughly 200,000 individuals from whom 50,000 were randomly selected to the treatment group. We will estimate the effects of this experiment using register data.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Karhunen, Hannu et al. 2023. "Information provision and lifelong learning: Evidence from a field experiment." AEA RCT Registry. May 26. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.10878-2.0
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
The information treatment consisted of a pamphlet sent by Finland’s Service Centre for Continuous Learning and Employment (SECLE). The pamphlet consisted of two main parts. First, we highlighted the benefits of pursuing adult education by presenting returns in terms of earnings and employment. Second, the pamphlet provided guidance for finding suitable education and information on financial assistance for the studies.
Intervention Start Date
2023-02-12
Intervention End Date
2023-02-19

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Participation in education
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Participation in different types of education (e.g. vocational education, apprenticeship training, etc.)
Completed study credits
Completed degrees
Application to secondary education
Annual taxable labor earnings
Employment
Internal and external migration
Occupational mobility
Use of antidepressants and other drugs
Hospitalization
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The researchers in collaboration with SECLE defined the target population for the intervention in late 2022. We used the following criteria:
• Individual was born in Finland
• Born in 1963 – 1998
• Resident in mainland Finland with a valid address (excludes the Aland islands)
• Has completed at most primary education (no secondary or higher degrees in the register data)

Using these criteria and the most recent data from 2022, the target population consisted of around 200,000 individuals. We provided Statistics Finland with these criteria, who carried out the randomization in January 2023. Simple randomization was used to sample 50,000 individuals as the treatment group.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Simple Random Sampling done by The Statistics Finland
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
No clusters, simple random sampling
Sample size: planned number of observations
The target population includes around 210,000 individuals.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
The treatment group includes 50,000 individuals receiving information. The control group is defined based on register data and is around 160 000 individuals.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Based on data form 2020 (average 0.079, standard deviation 0.27), we estimate that we can detect a minimum effect of 0.39 percentage points increase in enrollment at significance level of 5 % and power of rejecting the null hypotheses of 80 %.
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
The Board of Statistical Ethics, The Statistics Finland.
IRB Approval Date
2023-01-13
IRB Approval Number
N/A
Analysis Plan

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