Cash transfers in Côte d’Ivoire: Impact on women’s income, and dynamics within the household, savings groups, and community

Last registered on December 04, 2023
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Cash transfers in Côte d’Ivoire: Impact on women’s income, and dynamics within the household, savings groups, and community
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0012545
Initial registration date
November 20, 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
December 04, 2023, 12:32 PM EST

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

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Ben D'Exelle
Affiliation
University of East Anglia
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Marleen Dekker
PI Affiliation
Universiteit Leiden
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PI Name
Wendy Janssens
PI Affiliation
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
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PI Name
Renate Hartwig
PI Affiliation
Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
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PI Name
Yvonne van Dalen
PI Affiliation
100Weeks
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Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2021-09-23
End date
2024-04-30
Keywords
Finance & Microfinance, Gender
Additional Keywords
Cote d’Ivoire, Gender, Income, Intra-household, Mental Health, Risk-sharing, Saving groups, Transfers
JEL code(s)
D13, D14, I15, J16, O12
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Cash transfers are a popular tool to support households in coping with economic hardship and poverty. The literature documents that cash transfers, both, conditional and unconditional, are effective on a number of domains and thus are also effective in structurally reducing poverty. Yet, evidence on the impact of cash transfers, in particular unconditional ones, on women’s agency, both within and outside the household is still limited. In this study we aim to better understand the effects on women’s agency in the context of women’s savings groups in rural Cote d’Ivoire. The RCT is conducted in the region around Doloa. The study covers 60 randomly selected communities. In each community one savings group of around 15 women was formed. The study covers close to 900 women. In intervention communities, women in savings groups receive a sizable weekly cash transfer over a period of two years. The predictable and frequent income stream of the cash transfers is expected to enable women to more easily save, pay for large household expenditures and business investments, cope with uninsured shocks (thereby reducing risk and enhancing peace of mind), and more generally increase women’s agency within the household and community due to greater access to economic resources. The evaluation combines repeated survey data with administrative data from the savings groups.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
D'Exelle, Ben et al. 2023. "Cash transfers in Côte d’Ivoire: Impact on women’s income, and dynamics within the household, savings groups, and community." AEA RCT Registry. December 04. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.12545-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
The intervention set up savings groups in 60 randomly selected communities in the rural region around Doloa. One savings group was organized per community. A savings group comprises of 15 participants each. Participants were identified based on a participatory mapping exercise. Half of the savings groups were randomly assigned to a treatment arm, in which all participant women received a weekly transfer of ca. 8 euros per week for a period of two years. The other half of the groups constitutes the control group, which will receive the weekly transfers after the endline survey.
Intervention Start Date
2021-12-13
Intervention End Date
2023-11-06

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
I) Impact at the individual level
a. Income: Indicator on earnings in the past week (continuous),
b. Savings: Indicator on total amount of savings (continuous)
c. Assets: Asset index (continuous)
d. Labor market participation: Indicator on work in the past week (binary)
e. Entrepreneurship: Indicator on own business activity (binary)
II) Impact on intra-household dynamics
a. Intra-household transfers: Indicator on transfers received from husband (binary & continuous), indicator on transfer given to husband (binary & categorical)
b. Quality of spousal relations: Indicator on satisfaction with treatment by spouse (binary & categorical)
c. Intra-household decision making: Decision making index (continuous)
d. Mental health: Mental health score (continuous)
III) Impact on savings groups
a. Risk sharing: Indicator on number of members from whom a gift or loan was received in the past 12 months (continuous), indicator on amount received from group members in the past month (continuous), indicator on the amount shared with group members in the past month (continuous)
IV) Impact on social cohesion and support within the community
a. Risk sharing: Indicator on number of members outside fo the savings group from whom a gift or loan was received in the past 12 months (continuous), indicator on amount received from outside members in the past month (continuous), indicator on the amount shared with outside members in the past month (continuous)
b. Social capital: Social capital index (continuous)
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
- Asset index: Index based on asset modules in the survey covering housing, land, livestock and other amenities
- Decision making index: Index based on intra-household empowerment module in the questionnaire covering questions on decision making regarding health treatment, schooling, consumption, earnings etc.
- Mental health score: Score adding up 13 dimension including questions on loss of sleep because of worries, ability to overcome difficulties, happiness and depression, ability to make decisions, self-worth, concentration etc.
- Social capital index: Index based on four questions including questions caring for other children, ask and being asked for advice and invitation to celebrations and functions.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary outcomes include variables that we will use to investigate channels through heterogeneous effects. These include: Socio-economic status/wealth, age, education, and household composition (polygynous HH).
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We employ a randomized control trial (RCT). Savings groups were set up in 60 randomly selected communities in the rural region around Doloa. One savings group was organized per community. A savings group comprises of 15 participants each. Participants were identified based on a participatory mapping exercise. Half of the savings groups were randomly assigned to a treatment arm, in which all participant women received a weekly transfer of ca. 8 euros per week for a period of two years. The other half of the groups constitutes the control group, which will receive the weekly transfers after the endline survey.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
The random assignment was done by the implementing agency (100Weeks).
Randomization Unit
Community/village
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
60 saving groups
Sample size: planned number of observations
We plan with a sample of ca. 900 (60 x15) women. These are split across 60 communities, with communities split evenly across treatment and control.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
30 clusters control, 30 clusters treatment
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
The total planned sample of 900 women (60 x 15, divided between treatment and control) allows us to detect a minimum effect of 0.38 standard deviations, if we assume 80% power, 5% significance, 10% attrition and an intra-class correlation of 0.2.
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Research Ethics Review Board, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, School of Business and Economics
IRB Approval Date
2021-06-07
IRB Approval Number
20210413.1.wjs400
Analysis Plan

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