Fostering Climate Resilience: Socio-Economic Effects of Improved Urban Drainage in Bangladesh

Last registered on September 24, 2025
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Fostering Climate Resilience: Socio-Economic Effects of Improved Urban Drainage in Bangladesh
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0011481
Initial registration date
June 08, 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
June 15, 2023, 4:24 PM EDT

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

Last updated
September 24, 2025, 9:49 AM EDT

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

Locations

Country
Bangladesh
Region
Barishal

Primary Investigator

Name
Angelika Budjan
Affiliation
University of Stuttgart
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Cristina Cibin
PI Affiliation
Universität Heidelberg
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Khalid Imran
PI Affiliation
HSTU Dinajpur
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Robin Moellerherm
PI Affiliation
Universität Heidelberg
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Jingke Pan
PI Affiliation
Universität Heidelberg
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2023-06-15
End date
2025-10-31
Keywords
Education, Environment & Energy, Health, Labor, Other
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
D1, D9, H43, H54, Q54
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This study evaluates the socio-economic impact of urban drainage infrastructure improvements as a climate resilience measure in Barishal, Bangladesh, a city where waterlogging poses severe risks to urban livelihoods. We measure the effects by collecting a household survey immediately following the rainy season when benefits are expected to materialize. Leveraging high-resolution elevation data, we develop a two-dimensional flood hazard model to estimate household-specific changes in the duration of waterlogging induced by the intervention. We show that most of the expected benefits are not local, but are experienced as indirect network effects by households not directly targeted by the intervention. We exploit these spatial spillovers to identify the causal impact of the intervention on household-level socio-economic outcomes, including damages to house structure and assets, work disruptions, transportation and connectivity, health and nutrition, mental health, and child-related outcomes.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Budjan, Angelika et al. 2025. "Fostering Climate Resilience: Socio-Economic Effects of Improved Urban Drainage in Bangladesh." AEA RCT Registry. September 24. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.11481-2.0
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Our project studies the effects of an improvement of urban drainage infrastructure funded by the KfW in the city of Barishal, Bangladesh, on climate resilience of affected households. The intervention consists of improvement of the existing urban drainage network in the urban center of the city, since the current network is not able to handle the demands under heavy rainfall which leads to frequent flooding.
Intervention (Hidden)
Treatment definition: Treatment is defined as the predicted flood risk reduction due to the infrastructure improvement based on a two-dimensional flood hazard model.

The auxiliary hypothesis (H1) tests whether the treatment correctly captures a reduction in flood risk. It tests whether the treatment variable correlates with reported flood experience at household level.

H1: Households with a larger predicted reduction in flood risk will be less likely to report local flooding.

The main hypothesis (H2) tests whether the treatment had an effect on socio-economic outcomes.

H2: Households with a larger predicted reduction in flood risk will be less likely to experience negative indirect effects of flooding on
a) damages to house structure and assets
b) work disruptions
c) transportation and connectivity
d) health and nutrition
e) mental health
f) child-related health and education outcomes
Intervention Start Date
2023-07-01
Intervention End Date
2025-06-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
H1: Flood risk, household level:
- Self-reported flooding

H2: Socio-economic Outcomes
- damages to house structure and assets
- work disruptions
- transportation and connectivity
- health and nutrition
- mental health
-child-related health and education outcomes
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Leveraging high-resolution elevation data, we develop a two-dimensional flood hazard model to estimate household-specific changes in the duration of waterlogging induced by the intervention. We show that most of the predicted reductions in flood risk are not close to the targeted drains as intended by the policy-makers, but are experienced as indirect network effects by households not directly targeted by the intervention. We exploit these spatial spillovers to identify the causal effects of the intervention
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
No direct randomization. The research team had no influence on the location of the infrastructure project.
Randomization Unit
Households
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
2,600 households
Sample size: planned number of observations
2,600 households
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
The treatment is defined as a continuous variable (reduction in predicted flood risk) therefore, there are no traditional "treatment arms".
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Universität Heidelberg
IRB Approval Date
2023-05-23
IRB Approval Number
FESS-HD-2023-008
IRB Name
Universität Heidelberg
IRB Approval Date
2024-06-13
IRB Approval Number
FESS-HD-2024-010
IRB Name
Universität Stuttgart
IRB Approval Date
2024-07-30
IRB Approval Number
24-038
Analysis Plan

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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