Improving Matches between Employers and Job-Seekers in India

Last registered on May 22, 2016
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Improving Matches between Employers and Job-Seekers in India
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0001286
Initial registration date
May 22, 2016

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
May 22, 2016, 11:56 AM EDT

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

Locations

Country
India
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Erin Kelley
Affiliation
UC Berkeley
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Jeremy Magruder
PI Affiliation
UC Berkeley
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Elizabeth Ramirez
PI Affiliation
UC Berkeley
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2016-01-04
End date
2017-08-01
Keywords
Labor
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Abstract
Our work aims to understand how labor market frictions affect SME growth in India. Without appropriate information about the pool of job-seekers on the market and their individual quality, firms may end up hiring a poor quality worker, hiring a good worker who is a bad match, or choosing to leave a position vacant altogether. These outcomes are not only costly for firms but also for workers who will face higher rates of unemployment. In this context it becomes important to design policies that can help firms overcome these frictions. The goal of this research is to determine the extent to which the services provided by online job portals can help firms overcome these constraints.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Kelley, Erin , Jeremy Magruder and Elizabeth Ramirez. 2016. "Improving Matches between Employers and Job-Seekers in India." AEA RCT Registry. May 22. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.1286-1.0
Former Citation
Kelley, Erin , Jeremy Magruder and Elizabeth Ramirez. 2016. "Improving Matches between Employers and Job-Seekers in India." AEA RCT Registry. May 22. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/1286/history/8411
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
We randomly offer firms access to various popular services offered by online job portals (such as screening technologies).
Intervention (Hidden)
To assess the impact of job portals services on firms we have designed a randomized control trial (RCT) in partnership with two prominent Indian companies: Babajob, India’s largest online job portal for the informal sector, and Aspiring Minds, India’s largest skill assessment company. The RCT will involve randomly selecting firms among Babajob’s existing database and providing them with access to one of two services, corresponding to the two treatment arms. Firms in the first treatment arm will receive a promotional campaign: their job-post will be featured prominently on the website and 200 SMS will be sent out to job-seekers to alert them of this new job opportunity. Comparing firms with and without access to this service highlights the main benefits associated with reaching a wider candidate pool. We hypothesize that these firms will have a higher probability of finding a high 
productivity worker.

Firms in the second treatment arm will receive access to skills tests, designed and validated by Aspiring Minds. Specifically, all candidates applying to treated firms will be asked to take a skills test, with option of opting out. Comparing firms with and without access to skills tests highlights the benefits of improved screening technologies. We hypothesize that these firms will be able to better identify qualified workers, resulting in longer job 
duration, and fewer involuntary terminations.
Intervention Start Date
2016-07-01
Intervention End Date
2017-06-01

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Worker Productivity; Firm Productivity; Worker Selection; Hiring costs; Number of hires; Hiring practices; Demand for job portals' services
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We have three treatment arms to assess the impact of the services provided by online job portals on firms hiring decisions, and firm growth.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization done in office by a computer
Randomization Unit
The unit of randomization is the firm
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
1500 firms
Sample size: planned number of observations
1500 firms
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
1500 firms
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IRB Approval Date
IRB Approval Number
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