Imperfect Information and Product Recommendations

Last registered on August 07, 2023
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Imperfect Information and Product Recommendations
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0011827
Initial registration date
July 23, 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
July 28, 2023, 1:34 PM EDT

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

Last updated
August 07, 2023, 9:03 AM EDT

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

Locations

Country
Zambia
Region
Lusaka

Primary Investigator

Name
Ajay Shenoy
Affiliation
U.C. Santa Cruz
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Jie Bai
PI Affiliation
Harvard Kennedy School
Contact Investigator
PI Name
David Sungho Park
PI Affiliation
KDI School of Public Policy and Management
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2023-07-10
End date
2023-10-28
Keywords
Firms & Productivity
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This study tests the impact on small shops in Lusaka, Zambia of recommending and subsidizing the adoption of new products.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Bai, Jie, David Sungho Park and Ajay Shenoy. 2023. "Imperfect Information and Product Recommendations." AEA RCT Registry. August 07. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.11827-1.1
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
We recommend and subsidize the adoption of specific products to a randomly selected sample of shops.
Intervention Start Date
2023-07-20
Intervention End Date
2023-08-05

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Continuing to stock the product 2 months after the period of reimbursement ends
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
There will be two measures: self-report stocking, and stocking as measured independently by "mystery shoppers"

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Total profits, product-level profitability
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
There will be 3 treatment groups. One is control, one gets a fixed reimbursement for a single week's worth of purchases, and the other gets a fixed reimbursement for 2 weeks' worth of purchases.
Experimental Design Details
Shops are clustered into groups using a statistical learning algorithm. Recommended products are selected for each group, and randomization is done within product group. Since each group is recommended a different product (and the shops in these groups are somewhat different) we will test for treatment heterogeneity across groups.
Randomization Method
Randomization done by PIs using statistical software
Randomization Unit
Shops
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
334 shops
Sample size: planned number of observations
334 shops
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
110 shops control, 113 shops receive 1-week subsidy, 111 receive 2-week subsidy
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
University of California, Santa Cruz Institutional Review Board
IRB Approval Date
2023-07-05
IRB Approval Number
HS-FY2022-265
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