What drives gender segregation in the labor market? Evidence from Ugandan students

Last registered on June 28, 2023
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
What drives gender segregation in the labor market? Evidence from Ugandan students
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0011629
Initial registration date
June 22, 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 28, 2023, 2:54 PM EDT

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

Locations

Country
Uganda
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Cristina Clerici
Affiliation
Stockholm School of Economics
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Iacopo Bianchi
PI Affiliation
Institute for International Economic Studies, Stockholm University
PI Name
Dominik Biesalski
PI Affiliation
Institute for International Economic Studies, Stockholm University

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2023-04-15
End date
2023-12-31
Keywords
Gender, Labor
Additional Keywords
Occupation, Segregation, Youth, Uganda, Subjective Expectations
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
What are the roles of preferences for and subjective expectations about monetary and nonmonetary factors in determining young people’s occupational choices and the observed gender segregation in the labor market? Does inaccurate information play a role in this?
We will conduct a study with a sample of young women and men enrolled in vocational training institutes (VTIs) in the districts of Kampala and Wakiso, Uganda. Using hypothetical scenarios, we will elicit VTI course preferences and subjective expectations about monetary and nonmonetary factors. We will then estimate the relative importance of such factors in a model of occupation choice.
Moreover, we will provide a random half of the study participants with some information about the earnings of an average person in their age range, and test whether receiving this information affects their expectations, and in turn, their preferences.
Finally, we will explore some counterfactuals, which will inform the design of policies to improve women’s labor market outcomes at an early age.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Bianchi, Iacopo , Dominik Biesalski and Cristina Clerici. 2023. "What drives gender segregation in the labor market? Evidence from Ugandan students." AEA RCT Registry. June 28. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.11629-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2023-06-12
Intervention End Date
2023-07-15

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
A. Information intervention
1) General expectations over earnings for an average person, if self-employed and if working as an employee
2) General expectations over own earnings, if self-employed and if working as an employee
3) Expectations over work-related outcomes and nonwork-related outcomes, asked conditionally on the ranked options. We will look at these expectations: a) for the option ranked first, b) pooling expectations.

B. Discrete choice experiments
Reported valuation of hypothetical job options
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
A. Information intervention
1) Preferences for different types of VTI courses (or for not completing a VTI course)
2) Preference for self-employment
3) Preferred own earnings, if self-employed and if working as an employee
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Students take part in a survey. Towards the beginning of this survey, we randomly provide half of the sample with information concerning the earnings of an average employee in the labor market. Afterwards, all students are asked the same questions. Specifically, they are asked to rank different types of VTI courses (or the option of not completing any VTI course) according to their preference, as well as their subjective expectations related to different work- and nonwork-related outcomes for each of the ranked options. Finally, the respondents engage in a series of discrete choice experiments, where they are shown two job offers and they are asked to indicate the probability they would take up each of them, conditionally on having decided to accept one.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization done in office by a computer
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
1000
Sample size: planned number of observations
1000
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Information arm: 500 individuals
No-information arm: 500 individuals
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Mildmay Uganda Research Ethics Committee (MUREC)
IRB Approval Date
2023-04-04
IRB Approval Number
#MUREC-2021-34
Analysis Plan

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