Cash Transfers, Lotteries, and Group Incentives: Experimental Evidence on Reducing Crop Residue Burning in Thailand

Last registered on December 20, 2024

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Cash Transfers, Lotteries, and Group Incentives: Experimental Evidence on Reducing Crop Residue Burning in Thailand
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0014933
Initial registration date
December 19, 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
December 20, 2024, 2:34 PM EST

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

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
American University of Sharjah

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
Kasetsart University
PI Affiliation
American University of Sharjah
PI Affiliation
World Bank

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2024-12-21
End date
2025-12-31
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This study investigates the effectiveness of different financial incentives to reduce crop residue burning (CRB) among farmers in Thailand. Using a field experiment, we evaluate three treatment groups and a control group. The control group receives no intervention, serving as a baseline to observe CRB practices. In the treatment groups, farmers are rewarded for adopting alternative methods to manage crop residue. In T1, farmers receive a guaranteed cash payment for avoiding CRB. In T2, farmers who avoid CRB receive a lottery with an equal probability of receiving a payment either lower or higher than the guaranteed amount in T1. In T3, farmers are placed in anonymous groups of four, with cash transfers contingent on at least two group members refraining from CRB. This design enables us to compare the efficacy of fixed payments, probabilistic rewards, and group-based incentives in promoting sustainable agricultural practices.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Attavanich , Witsanu et al. 2024. "Cash Transfers, Lotteries, and Group Incentives: Experimental Evidence on Reducing Crop Residue Burning in Thailand." AEA RCT Registry. December 20. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.14933-1.0
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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2024-12-21
Intervention End Date
2025-04-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
whether farmers burn their crop residue after harvesting
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
There are three treatments and one control group:

Control group: No interventions. This group serves as a baseline to measure the impact of the treatments.

T1: Standard conditional cash transfer: Farmers receive a cash transfer of 200 THB/rai if they comply with the condition of not burning their crop residue after harvesting.

T2: Lottery transfer: Farmers will receive a lottery conditional on not burning their crop residue after harvesting. The lottery has a 50-50 chance of awarding either 100 THB/rai (50% of T1) or 300 THB/rai (150% of T1).

T3: Group-based conditional cash transfer: Farmers are randomly assigned to an anonymous group of four (group members remain unknown to each other). Farmers will receive a cash transfer conditional on at least two farmers in the groups complying with the condition of not burning. If two farmers in the group comply, each farmer receives a cash transfer of 100 THB/rai (50% of T1). If three farmers in the group comply, each farmer receives a cash transfer of 150 THB/rai (75% of T1). If all four farmers in the group comply, each farmer receives the full amount (200 THB/rai). If 0 or 1 farmer complies, no farmer receives a transfer.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization in the office by a computer
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
-
Sample size: planned number of observations
400 farmers
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
100 farmers for each arm
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
American University of Sharjah
IRB Approval Date
2023-05-24
IRB Approval Number
23-078