Impacts of information and payment targeting between parents and children on digital skills investments for teenage daughters in Pakistan.

Last registered on November 17, 2023
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Impacts of information and payment targeting between parents and children on digital skills investments for teenage daughters in Pakistan.
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0012463
Initial registration date
November 07, 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
November 17, 2023, 7:43 AM EST

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

Locations

Country
Pakistan
Region
Lahore

Primary Investigator

Name
Emma Zhang
Affiliation
University of Chicago Booth School of Business
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Rebecca Wu
PI Affiliation
University of Chicago
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Hamna Ahmed
PI Affiliation
Lahore School of Economics
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Zunia Saif Tirmazee
PI Affiliation
Lahore School of Economics
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2022-12-14
End date
2023-06-17
Keywords
Behavior, Education, Gender, Labor
Additional Keywords
Intrahousehold decision making, policy targeting, digital skills
JEL code(s)
D13
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
We run a randomized control trial to study the targeting of incentive payments for completion of digital skills programs for teenage girls in Lahore. We fix the total household incentive for completion of the program to 3,000 PKR. We cross randomize incentive contracts that split the amount of stipend handed to parents and daughters, along with full information on the total household stipend to parents. This results in 6 randomization groups. We investigate differences in parental consent, girls drop out, and total household completion by group.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Ahmed, Hamna et al. 2023. "Impacts of information and payment targeting between parents and children on digital skills investments for teenage daughters in Pakistan.." AEA RCT Registry. November 17. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.12463-1.0
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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Girls are recruited within Lahore government high schools who are interested in Coursera digital skills training courses. We randomize the split of household stipend given to parents and daughters on completion of the digital skills training program. We cross randomize full information on the total household stipend to parents. This results in 6 randomization groups:

1. (0 PKR, 3,000 PKR, Partial Information)
2. (1,500 PKR, 1,500 PKR, Partial Information)
3. (3,000 PKR, 0 PKR, Partial Information)
4. (0 PKR, 3,000 PKR, Full Information)
5. (1,500 PKR, 1,500 PKR, Full Information)
6. (3,000 PKR, 0 PKR, Full Information)
Intervention Start Date
2023-02-01
Intervention End Date
2023-04-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
We are interested in parental consent rates, girls dropping out of the program (conditional on parental consent), and total household completion of the digital skills training.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
We are interested on whether the digital skills training courses tangibly increase both confidence and real digital literacy skills.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)
Many digital skills are so basic that they are acquired via learning by doing. Due to familial restrictions for computer and cell-phone use amongst teenage girls in Pakistan, many girls in our sample report they are unable to use very basic microsoft word functions or use the computer. Confidence is an important measure, as it may correlate with willingness to continue acquiring digital skills, without a household incentive or a certificate from Coursera.

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We recruit girls during information sessions for the digital skills courses during high scool. We will randomize girls into 6 groups and invite them to the baseline survey. At the end of the baseline survey, girls are informed about their contract and about how much information their parents will recieve. We then contact parents of the girls who filled out baseline and inform them of their contract should their daughters complete the training. Parents have two days to give us consent, via text. Girls who recieve consent from their parents are then contacted for enrollment in the Coursera class. Girls have 6 weeks to accept their invitation and complete the skills training course. All girls who attended baseline are then invited to an endline survey.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization done in office by a computer.
Randomization Unit
Individual level randomization.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
500
Sample size: planned number of observations
500
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
83
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 Chicago Institutional Review Board
IRB Approval Date
2022-09-19
IRB Approval Number
IRB22-1115
Analysis Plan

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
Yes
Intervention Completion Date
June 10, 2023, 12:00 +00:00
Data Collection Complete
Yes
Data Collection Completion Date
June 17, 2023, 12:00 +00:00
Final Sample Size: Number of Clusters (Unit of Randomization)
490
Was attrition correlated with treatment status?
No
Final Sample Size: Total Number of Observations
490
Final Sample Size (or Number of Clusters) by Treatment Arms
Group 1: 69 Group 2: 85 Group 3: 90 Group 4: 82 Group 5: 69 Group 6: 94
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
No
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials