Information sharing, insurance decisions and conflict in the household

Last registered on April 15, 2026

View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title

Information sharing, insurance decisions and conflict in the household

RCT ID

AEARCTR-0013841

Initial registration date

June 18, 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

June 24, 2024, 2:11 PM EDT

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

Last updated

April 15, 2026, 3:03 AM EDT

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

Locations

Country

Ethiopia

Region

Oromia, South Ethiopia and South West Ethiopia

Country

Kenya

Region

Isiolo county, Marsabit county, Samburu county, Tana River county, Turkana county, and Wajir county

Primary Investigator

Name

Karlijn Morsink

Affiliation

Utrecht University School of Economics

Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name

Anouk van Veldhoven

PI Affiliation

Utrecht University School of Economics

PI Name

Tagel Gebrehiwot

PI Affiliation

PI Name

Lotte van der Haar

PI Affiliation

PI Name

Nathan Jensen

PI Affiliation

PI Name

Hyuk Harry Son

PI Affiliation

PI Name

Kelvin Shikuku

PI Affiliation

Additional Trial Information

Status

Completed

Start date

2024-01-28

End date

2025-03-31

Keywords

Gender, Other

Additional Keywords

Targeting, Information-sharing, Intimate Partner Violence, Index Insurance

JEL code(s)

Secondary IDs

Prior work

This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.

Abstract

This research project aims to understand to what extent information about a financial product, when provided either to men or women, affects spouses’ beliefs and attitudes towards the financial product, product purchase decisions, and intra-household information sharing, cooperation and conflict outcomes. We conduct a randomized controlled trial among 3100 pastoral households in Kenya and Ethiopia. We randomize, at the household-level, the gender of the spouse that receives information about an index insurance and savings financial product through video interventions. Additionally, we cross-randomize whether or not the household member that is targeted with information can directly share the information with their spouse, by requesting the intervention team to also show the video to their spouse. We collect survey data from both the male and female spouse.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation

Gebrehiwot, Tagel et al. 2026. "Information sharing, insurance decisions and conflict in the household." AEA RCT Registry. April 15. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.13841-3.2

Sponsors & Partners

Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)

In collaboration with our implementing partners, short videos were prepared that explain the product attributes, consumer value and customer care procedures of an index insurance and savings financial product. Sample communities were visited by survey teams, who showed the videos to either male or female individuals in treatment households in the process of conducting household surveys

Intervention (Hidden)

10-minute information videos about index insurance and savings were developed. For the purpose of this study we distinguish between the “product attributes video” and the “treatment video”.

The product attributes video explains basic attributes of the index insurance and savings financial product. For example, the video explains how insurance claim payments are determined and paid, and how pastoral households can register for the product.

The treatment video further describes the different welfare benefits of the insurance and savings financial product for pastoral households, and explains the procedures for pastoralists to address questions or issues in relation to the financial product. This is done using vignettes, presenting pastoralists in relatable situations. For example, one vignette addresses that for a pastoralist who worries a lot about future droughts, a benefit of insurance is that it may help to reduce these worries. Another vignette shows a pastoralist that wants to have more information or address an issue with their registration to the product, and then explains the process of contacting the customer care
system by phone to seek further information about the product, or report grievances.

Intervention Start Date

2024-01-28

Intervention End Date

2024-03-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)

• First- and second-order beliefs about benefits and costs of insurance and savings.
• (Beliefs about) information sharing between spouses.
• Index insurance take-up and savings behaviour.
• Incidence of disagreements.
• Incidence of intimate partner violence (IPV).

Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)

• Knowledge of insurance and savings.
• Relationship quality.

Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Households receive new information about index insurance and savings through a video, and we randomly assign the gender of the spouse that receives it (target spouse): either an adult male household member or their female spouse. Additionally, we cross-randomize whether or not the target spouse can directly share the information with their spouse (non-target spouse), by requesting the video to also be shown to them.

Experimental Design Details

The product attributes video is shown to both a male and female spouse from all treatment households, but not to members of control households. The treatment video is only shown to one of the two spouses in treatment households, the “target spouse”, according to the household’s assignment into one of four treatment arms. We summarise each experimental arm below.
1. Treatment arm 1: Male
• The male spouse is the target spouse and watches the product attributes video and the
treatment video.
• The female spouse watches the product attributes video but not the treatment video.

2. Treatment arm 2: Female
• The female spouse is the target spouse and watches the product attributes video and
the treatment video.
• The male spouse watches the product attributes video but not the treatment video.

3. Treatment arm 3: Male + sharing option
• The male spouse is the target spouse and watches the product attributes video and the
treatment video.
• The female spouse watches the product attributes video but not the treatment video.
• After watching the video, the male spouse decides whether or not to also share the
treatment video with their female spouse.

4. Treatment arm 4: Female + sharing option
• The female spouse is the target spouse and watches the product attributes video and
the treatment video.
• The male spouse watches the product attributes video but not watch the treatment
video.
• After watching the video, the female spouse decides whether or not to also share the
treatment video with their male spouse.

5. Control arm
• Both spouses do not watch any video

Randomization Method

Randomization done using statistical software STATA

Randomization Unit

The level of randomization for treatment versus control is the community, the randomization of the four treatment arms is done at the household level.

Was the treatment clustered?

Yes