Assessment of the socioeconomic impact of a welding apprenticeship in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

Last registered on October 07, 2024

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Assessment of the socioeconomic impact of a welding apprenticeship in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0014425
Initial registration date
September 23, 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, 6:46 PM EDT

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

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
University of New South Wales

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
University of New South Wales
PI Affiliation
University of New South Wales

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2025-01-01
End date
2025-10-01
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
The research assesses the socio-economic impact of a training program for youth from Boroko district in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. The impact of the training program will be made on the basis of primary data collected before and then after the training through a purpose-designed survey. The study aims to contribute to existing knowledge by providing a detailed analysis of how targeted training programs can lift socio-economic outcomes, namely employment, income, and access to public services. The research is expected to generate insights into the effectiveness of enhancing access to education for employment that, in turn, has flow-on benefits to the family and the broader community. The lessons emanating from the study have implications for scalable and sustainable interventions of a similar nature. The research design, survey tools and data analysis here are aligned with the Multi-Indicator Cluster Sample (MICS- version 6) and Randomized Controlled Trials in World Bank guidelines. These guidelines offer a comprehensive framework for designing surveys, including questionnaire development, sampling techniques, and data collection strategies. The impact of the training program will be assessed using a difference-in-difference quantitative method.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Bui, Hang, Satish Chand and Omar Hussain. 2024. "Assessment of the socioeconomic impact of a welding apprenticeship in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea." AEA RCT Registry. October 07. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.14425-1.0
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
The program entails hands-on training and theoretical lessons on welding techniques, safety, and industry standards. The program aims to boost participants’ employability, foster continuous learning, and promote safety and quality standards in the workplace. Hence, the intention of the program is to improve the socio-economic condition of the region. The training program is established and totally independent of the research study. In other words, the training is not offered alongside and does not require this research.
Intervention Start Date
2025-02-01
Intervention End Date
2025-05-01

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
The primary research question is: How does the training program impact on the social-demographic and economic status of the program participants?
The sub-questions are:
1. How does the training program influence participants’ educational levels, income and employment outcomes?
2. What impact does the training program have on consumption and investment decisions of the household?
3. How does participation in the training program affect the welfare of the wider community. Specifically, what impact if any are evident in terms of access to communal services such as to piped water, sanitation, and healthcare?
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The collected data will be analyzed to gauge the impact of the training program. A difference-in-difference quantitative method will be employed to estimate the impact of the training program on a suite of socio-economic indicators. Comparisons will be made on the basis of the collected data before and after training and between individuals randomly chosen to undertake the training (hereafter termed the training group) and those who are not selected randomly to undertake the training program (hereafter termed the control group).
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization process: To ensure that there is no bias and each participant has an equal chance of being placed in any group to start with, a computer allocates each study participant into a group randomly, like the flip of a coin.
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
As the randomization is at the individual level, the number of clusters at the unit of randomization level is the same as the number of individuals.
Sample size: planned number of observations
A target of surveying a minimum of 96 participants in the local community (i.e., Boroko) in PNG has been set to be able to discern impact of the training program.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
A target of surveying a minimum of 96 participants in the local community (i.e., Boroko) in PNG has been set to be able to discern impact of the training program.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Human Ethics Committee in University of New South Wales
IRB Approval Date
2024-09-13
IRB Approval Number
N/A