OpportunityZero-Six. An Experiment on Conditional Cash Transfers for Families with Young Children

Last registered on June 16, 2018

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
OpportunityZero-Six. An Experiment on Conditional Cash Transfers for Families with Young Children
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0001476
Initial registration date
August 04, 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
August 04, 2016, 5:02 PM EDT

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

Last updated
June 16, 2018, 2:03 PM EDT

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

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
Collegio Carlo Alberto

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
University of Zurich (UZH)
PI Affiliation
University of Turin and Collegio Carlo Alberto

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2016-01-11
End date
2018-11-05
Secondary IDs
Abstract
Child Collegio Carlo Alberto in cooperation with Ufficio Pio will pilot a conditional cash transfer programme that will focus on providing information set of families with children. We will evaluate the effects of conditional cash transfer methods on the well-being of families with at least one child aged 0-6 years.

We are using a different type of condition to those used in the international experiences: the transfer is not dependent on how it is used or its effects, but on exposure to information and guidance that could encourage choices potentially tackling poverty and fostering the families' well-being.

The design of the evaluation is such that there will be one control group not receiving any transfer, a first treatment group of families receiving an unconditional cash transfer, and a second treatment group receiving the conditional cash transfer. The condition is based on attendance to a set of courses aimed at improving individual labor market opportunities, household financial conditions, human capital accumulation of family members, children well-being, health status of family members, etc.

The aim of the study is to compare the potential effects of conditional cash transfers (based on the participation in educational/training activities) vs. unconditional cash transfers on a set of outcomes such as labor market outcomes of family members, participation in activities fostering family members' human capital accumulation, family economic and financial situation, use of money, children well-being and development, health related outcomes such as health status and food consumption, etc.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Del Boca, Daniela, Chiara Pronzato and Giuseppe Sorrenti. 2018. "OpportunityZero-Six. An Experiment on Conditional Cash Transfers for Families with Young Children." AEA RCT Registry. June 16. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.1476-7.0
Former Citation
Del Boca, Daniela, Chiara Pronzato and Giuseppe Sorrenti. 2018. "OpportunityZero-Six. An Experiment on Conditional Cash Transfers for Families with Young Children." AEA RCT Registry. June 16. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/1476/history/30823
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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
We aim at evaluating the impact of different forms of cash transfers - conditional vs. unconditional - to families below the poverty threshold and with, at least, one child aged 0-6. Conditionality is defined as minimum attendance of a set of courses and training covering topics such as job-seeking, conciliation work and family, use of money, and parenting. The reference population of the experiment is divided into three different groups: a control group (CG), a conditional cash transfer group (CCT: transfer and courses), and an unconditional cash transfer group (UCT: cash transfer). We exploit an established income support program (AOS) provided by the Compagnia di San Paolo-Ufficio Pio in one of the main Italian metropolitan areas, namely the Municipality of Turin. Application to the income support program is voluntary. The cash transfer amounts to euro 2500-3000. Outcomes will be measured 12 months after admission to the program (or rejection for the case of families in the CG).

We investigate set of outcomes potentially affected by the the cash transfer and the topics covered in the courses attended by families in the CCT group. In particular, we focus on the labor market performance of family members, education and training pursued by family members, economic and financial condition of the family, use of money, social inclusion, children's well-being and development outcomes. Each outcome, when applicable, will be measured for each of the household components.

One of the main advantages of our setting is that (i) we are able to compare two different interventions (CCT and UCT) using a very circumscribed population living in the same urban area. This way we can ensure that pre-treatment groups - control and treatment groups - are similar in almost all the characteristics - both observable (and testable) and unobservable (untestable). Moreover, our setting ensures that in the treatment period the three groups groups are potentially hit by the same common shocks.

As anticipated above, we split the entire population of applicants into three different groups. A control group (CG), a first treatment group receiving an unconditional cash transfer (UCT), and a second treatment group receiving a conditional cash transfer (CCT). The three groups have the same initial size: each group is made by around 500 families. The condition for the CCT group to receive the cash transfer is the attendance to a set of courses aimed covering job-seeking, family and work conciliation, use of money, and parenting. Each family is required to attend two courses. The assignment of each family to the two courses - made by 5 meetings lasting 2 hours each - was performed by the Ufficio Pio on the base on an algorithm matching family characteristics with the courses plausibly more related with the specific family needs. The assignment was in any way dependent on family preferences and any reallocation was allowed. In order to get the transfer, each family is required to attend at least 75% of each course.

The families in the CCT will receive the cash transfer in three installments upon attendance of at least two of the four courses previously described. The first installment (euro 500) was provided at the time the family entered the program. The second installment (euro 1,000-1,500) was paid once the family had attended the first course, meaning around three months after admission to the program. The third installment (euro 1,000-1,500) was paid once completed the attendance of the second course, meaning 6 months after admission.

The UCT group will receive the same amount of transfer as the conditional cash transfer group. However, they were not requested to attend any course in order to obtain the transfer. Also for this group the cash transfer was provided through three installments with the exact same timing as the conditional cash transfer group.

The CG, although eligible to receive the treatment, will not receive any cash transfer for the entire period covered by our analysis. We name this group CG.

The final survey administered to all families 12-months after admission to the program will cover topics such as:
-Labor market outcomes: Employment status, time in employment, unemployment status, time in unemployment, wage, weekly hours of work, enrollment in professional courses, training activities, job-seeking activities, etc.
-Income related outcomes: Savings, arrears in utility bills, use of money, financial problems, help by others to deal with expenses, etc
-Social inclusion: use of social media, use of email, use of internet, etc.
-Children outcomes: Use of child care (if applicable), school enrollment (if applicable), behavioral problems, etc.
-Health related outcomes: food consumption, health status, etc.


Intervention Start Date
2016-03-01
Intervention End Date
2016-12-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
-Labor market outcomes
-Job-seeking and training
-Income related outcomes
-Children outcomes
-Health related outcomes

-Social inclusion
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
-Labor market outcomes: Employment status, time in employment, unemployment status, time in unemployment, wage, weekly hours of work, enrollment in professional courses, training activities, job-seeking activities, etc.
-Income related outcomes: Savings, arrears in utility bills, use of money, financial problems, help by others to deal with expenses, etc
-Social inclusion: use of social media, use of email, use of internet, etc.
-Children outcomes: Use of child care (if applicable), school enrollment (if applicable), behavioral problems, etc.
-Health related outcomes: food consumption, health status, etc.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We compare conditional versus unconditional cash transfers in tackling family poverty. The reference population of the experiment is made by those families living below the poverty threshold in the Italian municipality of Turin. The population of families applying for the main income support program in the municipality (AOS) is divided into three different groups: a control group (CG), a conditional cash transfer group (CCT: transfer and courses), and an unconditional cash transfer group (UCT: cash transfer). The cash transfer amounts to euro 2500-3000. Outcomes will be measured 12 months after admission to the program (or rejection for the case of families in the CG).

We investigate set of outcomes potentially affected by the the cash transfer and the topics covered in the courses attended by families in the CCT group. In particular, we focus on the labor market performance of family members, education and training pursued by family members, economic and financial condition of the family, use of money, social inclusion, children's well-being and development outcomes. Each outcome, when applicable, will be measured for each of the household components.

We split the entire population of applicants into three different groups. A control group (CG), a first treatment group receiving an unconditional cash transfer (UCT), and a second treatment group receiving a conditional cash transfer (CCT). The three groups have the same initial size: each group is made by around 500 families. The condition for the CCT group to receive the cash transfer is the attendance to a set of courses aimed covering job-seeking, family and work conciliation, use of money, and parenting. Each family is required to attend two courses. The assignment of each family to the two courses - made by 5 meetings lasting 2 hours each - was performed by the Ufficio Pio on the base on an algorithm matching family characteristics with the courses plausibly more related with the specific family needs. The assignment was in any way dependent on family preferences and any reallocation was allowed. In order to get the transfer, each family is required to attend at least 75% of each course.

The families in the CCT will receive the cash transfer in three installments upon attendance of at least two of the four courses previously described. The first installment (euro 500) was provided at the time the family entered the program. The second installment (euro 1,000-1,500) was paid once the family had attended the first course, meaning around three months after admission to the program. The third installment (euro 1,000-1,500) was paid once completed the attendance of the second course, meaning 6 months after admission.

The UCT group will receive the same amount of transfer as the conditional cash transfer group. However, they were not requested to attend any course in order to obtain the transfer. Also for this group the cash transfer was provided through three installments with the exact same timing as the conditional cash transfer group.

The CG, although eligible to receive the treatment, will not receive any cash transfer for the entire period covered by our analysis. We name this group CG.

Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization is done in office by a computer. The randomization period started in March 2016 and will finish the next December 2016. Every two weeks the randomization process assigns around 90 eligible applications to a control group (30 obs), a group receiving the unconditional cash transfer (30 obs) and a group receiving the conditional cash transfer (30 obs).
Randomization Unit
Household
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
1500 households
Sample size: planned number of observations
1500 Households
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Control group: 500 households
Unconditional cash transfer: 500 households
Conditional cash transfer: 500 households
For each households information will be collected at household's member individual level.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Collegio Carlo Alberto
IRB Approval Date
2018-01-31
IRB Approval Number
N/A

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