Understanding interlocking barriers to electrification: evidence from subsidized prepaid meters in Benin.

Last registered on October 07, 2024

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Understanding interlocking barriers to electrification: evidence from subsidized prepaid meters in Benin.
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0013615
Initial registration date
September 30, 2024

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
October 07, 2024, 7:10 PM EDT

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

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
World Bank Development Research Group

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
PI Affiliation

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2023-09-01
End date
2024-10-31
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
High upfront connection costs may limit demand for electrification in low-income settings, but such costs may only be one of multiple factors preventing households from connecting to electricity. Imperfect information about the benefits and costs of electrification, technical or behavioral savings constraints, the price of electricity postadoption, credit constraints for appliance investments, and low-quality service may all
pose barriers to electrification even when connection costs are low. Which barriers, either alone or in combination, are responsible for low electricity adoption?
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Dakpogan, Arnaud, Megan Lang and Alpha Ly. 2024. "Understanding interlocking barriers to electrification: evidence from subsidized prepaid meters in Benin.." AEA RCT Registry. October 07. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.13615-1.0
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2024-02-20
Intervention End Date
2024-06-15

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Amount household has saved for a formal connection, whether the household has started the process to obtain a formal connection, whether the household has a formal connection.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Household understanding of the costs and process to obtain a formal connection.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)
We will obtain this measure by adding up the number of correct responses to a series of questions about the information provided during the information treatment.

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We cross-randomize information about the costs and procedures to obtain a formal electricity connection and access to a commitment savings account to save for the costs of connection.
Experimental Design Details
We are stratifying the randomization based on eligibility for subsidized meters. Households living within 40 meters of the existing grid can obtain connections for a much lower cost than households living more than 40 meters from the grid. In half of the neighborhoods where we are working, we treat 75% of households. In the other half we treat 25% of eligible households.
Randomization Method
Done in the office by a computer. Code available upon request.
Randomization Unit
Households.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
566 households
Sample size: planned number of observations
566 households
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
136 pure control households, 133 households treated with commitment savings offer only, 148 households treated with information only, 148 households treated with both information and commitment savings offer.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
University of Cape Town IRB
IRB Approval Date
2023-03-15
IRB Approval Number
N/A
Analysis Plan

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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